Energy Generation Projects

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government have allocated funding to projects to generate energy from human waste.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 11 September 2006
	No DEFRA funding has been allocated to projects to generate energy from human waste. Generating energy at Sewage Treatment works via gas engines using gas from anaerobic digestion is proven technology in place for decades, so a project of this kind is unlikely to warrant special development funds.

Flood and Coastal Defences

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in defining flood risk from the River Derwent in the section of the river within the district of South Derbyshire.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal operating authority for flood risk management in England and has a general supervisory duty over all matters relating to flood defence. The EA's River Derwent preliminary strategic review (PSR), which recommended the consideration of future works in South Derbyshire, including Alvaston, Derby and Little Chester, was completed in August 2004.
	A viability report identified a number of gaps in data and the need for improvements to the existing hydraulic model through Derby. The report reviewed the economic case in the PSR and suggested that a significant number of properties were at risk overall during a one in 100 year flood risk event. The report was completed in October 2005.
	Due to the scale of flooding problems, a strategic analysis is appropriate for the business case. This strategy, which is due to be completed in autumn 2007, will examine the alternative options for sustainable flood risk management in Derby during the next100 years.
	The strategy has now been extended to consider the Derwent from Derby to the River Trent, including Ambaston. Data on this area are currently being collected and work undertaken to develop the hydraulic model to extend it down to the confluence. The strategy is at the pre-scoping data gathering stage. It is anticipated that the scoping report will be issued in November 2006. The strategy will provide a plan for the first five years of capital investment, including an assessment of the appropriate maintenance strategy for the existing defences. A strategic environmental assessment will also be produced. The scoping report will be reissued to cover the increased project scope and area. An extensive process of consultation is planned.

Horse Exports

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how many former racehorses have been exported from the UK for slaughter in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many horses were exported from the UK in each of the last five years; and how many of these were exported for slaughter.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 11 September 2006
	According to the Department's system for issuing export health certificates, the number of equines certified for export from the United Kingdom are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002 10,785 
			 2003 9,130 
			 2004 12,856 
			 2005 7,637 
			 2006 (to end June) 2,820 
		
	
	These figures include the temporary export of equines as well as the re-export of imported animals and are subject to updating and amendment as more data becomes available.
	These data do not include equines exported in accordance with the tripartite agreement, under which export health certificates are not required for the movement of certain horses from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland and France.
	The tripartite agreement was suspended during the foot and mouth outbreak which led to exports of equines to the Republic of Ireland and France requiring export health certificates.
	No applications for the export of horses for slaughter have been received in the last five years.

Illegal Cattle Movements

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have been  (a) prosecuted for and  (b) convicted of making illegal cattle movements in each year since 2000 where the prosecution was subsequently found to have been made in error.

Barry Gardiner: Around 210 cases prosecuted by DEFRA and local authorities since 2003 have resulted in conviction for breach of the Cattle Identification Regulation. A further breakdown is not available because the figures are not held centrally.
	These cases involved keepers prosecuted because of failure to undertake the necessary action to identify cattle and report their movements. These are fundamental requirements if we are to control disease and to prevent cattle which may have BSE from entering the human food chain.
	We have advised that, although these keepers failed to comply with their European Community law obligations, the enforcement provisions in the Cattle Identification and Cattle Database Regulation are invalid because they are drafted in such a way that criminal liability depends on a failure to comply with the requirements set out in European legislation (Council Regulation 1760/2000) which was not in force at the time the offences were committed. This situation arose because the original Council Regulation 820/97 was replaced by Council Regulation 1760/2000 inJuly 2000.

Rural Payments Agency

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact problems at the Rural Payments Agency have had on other areas of the Department's expenditure; and whether all spending areas, including those non-departmental bodies within the Department's responsibilities, have received this year's funding allocation.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 11 September 2006
	Additional resources were allocated at the start of the year to maintain staffing levels at the agency and ensure that farmers receive their single payment scheme payments as soon as possible. This accounts for only one of a number of pressures Defra has faced this year, including avian influenza incidents, the sum of which is estimated to be in the region of £200 million.
	As a consequence of these pressures, all areas of the Department's spend have been subject to rigorous scrutiny as part of a current budget review. The review, while comprehensive in nature, is seeking to ensure that DEFRA's funding is placed where it can have the greatest impact. Ministers have agreed revised budgets for 2006-07 and business areas, including non-departmental bodies, will be informed of these decisions in the coming weeks.
	The Rural Payments Agency's difficulties are by no means the sole reason for undertaking this budget review but only one component. It is sensible for all Government Departments to review spending on a regular basis to ensure that taxpayers' money is being used in the most effective way.

Intelligence and Security Committee

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 865W, on Intelligence and Security Committee, how the challenge function within the assessments staff has been strengthened.

Tony Blair: The challenge function within the assessments staff has been strengthened through the creation of a dedicated challenge team, which, inter alia, assists in testing alternative hypotheses, and reviewing past judgments.

Terrorism

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the procedures to deal with a serious terrorist alert at London's airports were last exercised prior to August 2006.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 11 September 2006
	Most recently, the contingency plans were put inplace for BAA London airports following the eventsof 7 July 2005. The National Aviation Security Programme requires the production, development and exercise of security contingency plans by aerodrome managers, aircraft operators and others in the aviation industry. All the London airports regularly undertake their own live and table-top exercises as well as taking part in other agencies' exercises.

Traffic Officer Service

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Traffic Officer Service was first established in the West Midlands (WM) region in April 2004.
	Two targets were set for the WM region in the 2005-06 Highways Agency business plan:
	1. For the busiest sections of motorway in the West Midlands, HA Traffic Officers will attend 75 per cent. of incidents within 15 minutes of being deployed.
	The WM service achieved 92 per cent. in 15 minutes.
	2. In the West Midlands, HA Traffic Officers will clear 75 per cent. of incidents within 30 minutes of taking full responsibility for re-opening the road to traffic.
	The WM service achieved 84 per cent.
	This experience has enabled the Highways Agency to identify a set of key performance indicators for the service. These indicators will be used to measure the activities that will contribute to delivery of the public sector agreement (PSA) target for journey reliability 2007-08 and to the delivery of the financial benefits of the service. The financial benefits derived from the introduction of the Traffic Officer Service are not due to be assessed until 2008 when the service willhave been fully operational across all regions for 12 months. The Highways Agency has analysed data over a 12 month period for the West Midlands and observed a 2 per cent. reduction in incident related congestion.
	I would expect the full assessment, which will cover the impacts of introducing the Traffic Officer Service on reducing incident related congestion; improving safety; and freeing up police resources for tackling criminality on the strategic road network to be published at the end of 2008 when the data have been gathered and analysed.

Breastfeeding

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the proportion of newborn babies exclusively breastfed until six months old.

Rosie Winterton: In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland there was a significant increase in the incidence of breastfeeding between 2000 and 2005. However, no estimate of the proportion of newborn babies exclusively breastfed up until six months old has been made up to date.
	The National Infant Feeding Survey 2005, is expected to provide information on the levels of exclusive breastfeeding up until six months old.
	The results of the survey are expected in late spring 2007.

Departmental Staff

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) full-time equivalent and  (b) headcount staff were employed in (i) her Department and (ii) each of her Department's arm's length bodies in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The full-time equivalent numbers of staff employed by the Department of Health in each year since 1997, which have been taken from the Department's Annual Reports for the years 2002 to 2006, are as follows:
	
		
			   As at 31 March each year 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			 Core DH 4,486 4,247 3,611 3,753 3,632 
			 NHS Pensions Agency — — 464 444 452 
			 Medicine and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency — — — — — 
			 Medical Devices Agency — 144 143 141 149 
			 Medicines Control Agency 378 413 492 490 436 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency (PASA) — — — 285 291 
			 NHS Estates 139 144 242 270 326 
			 Total 5,003 4,804 4,953 5,100 5,272 
		
	
	
		
			   As at 31 March each year 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Core DH 3,809 3,390 2,964 2,189 2,364 
			 NHS Pensions Agency 466 268 258 — — 
			 Medicine and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency — 747 781 863 — 
			 Medical Devices Agency 156 — — — — 
			 Medicines Control Agency 574 519 — — — 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency (PASA) 309 328 332 328 — 
			 NHS Estates 435 390 375 314 — 
			 Total 5,724 5,032 4,672 3,616 3,555 
		
	
	For special health authorities and non-departmental public bodies of the Department, we can only provide information from 2004-05 onwards. Obtaining the figures from earlier years would involve carrying out a collection exercise from numerous individual bodies and would incur disproportionate costs.
	
		
			   WTE 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Healthcare Commission 771 771 771 
			 Mental Health Act Commission 36 43 43 
			 Monitor 28 28 28 
			 Commission for Social Care Inspection 2,622 2,492 2,335 
			 Human Fertility and Embryology Authority 106 103 79 
			 Human tissue authority — 16 20 
			 Commission for Regulation of Healthcare Professionals 11 11 11 
			 General Social Care Council 262 262 234 
			 Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board 36 67 50 
			 Dental Vocational Training Authority 32 — — 
			 National Institute Clinical Excellence 230 217 226 
			 National Patients Safety Agency 238 281 281 
			 Health Protection Agency 3,144 3,287 3,268 
			 National Biological Standards Board 308 313 318 
			 National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse 88 126 132 
			 Commission for patient and public Involvement in Health 189 118 118 
			 National Blood Authority (including BPL) 5,599 6,155 6,110 
			 UK Transplant (merger into NHSBT) 121 — — 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 166 155 155 
			 NHS Appointments Commission 51 58 57 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre 366 366 366 
			 Dental Practice Board (See below part of British Service Authority (BSA)) — — — 
			 Prescription Pricing Authority (See following part of BSA) — — — 
			 NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (See following part of BSA) — — — 
			 NHS Pensions Agency(See following part of BSA) — — — 
			 Business Services Authority 2580 3,084 2,082 
			 NHS Logistics 1,462 1,462 — 
			 NHS Direct 3,461 3,461 — 
			 NHS Professionals 807 742 871 
			 NHS Institute for Learning, Skills and Innovation 170 170 170 
			 National Programme for IT/Connecting for Health 786 605 605 
			 Total 23,641 24,393 18,330

Funding (Warrington)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much health funding has been spent in Warrington per head of population in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. However, expenditure per head for Warrington primary care trust is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Warrington primary care trust 
			   Expenditure per head (£) 
			 2002-03 815.42 
			 2003-04 986.72 
			 2004-05 1,056.59 
			  Notes:1. Warrington primary care trust did not come into existence until1 April 2002. Figures cannot be provided prior to this date as Warrington was not a specific area for accounts data.2. Expenditure on general dental services and pharmaceutical services accounted for by the Dental Practice Board and Prescription Pricing Authority, respectively, are excluded. This expenditure cannot be included within the figures for the individual health bodies as they are not included in commissioner accounts. Sources:1. Audited summarisation schedules of Warrington Primary Care Trusts 2002-03 to 2004-05.2. Population figures.

Health Inequalities

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent to which each spearhead area is on track to meet the 2010 health inequalities target; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The 2010 health inequalities target is based on the performance of the spearhead areas as a whole. The extent to which each individual spearhead area is on track to narrow their local life expectancy gap with England by 10 per cent. by 2010 is shown in the following list. While the national trend is for a continuing widening in the life expectancy gap between spearhead areas and England, the table shows that some 19 per cent. of spearhead areas are on track for males and females with a further 41 per cent. on track for either males or females.
	Current activity to support achievement of the target includes improving our understanding of the key interventions to improve life expectancy in spearhead areas. Fast gains in life expectancy can be made by reducing the prevalence of smoking, effective control of blood pressure and cholesterol, and good care of people with long-term conditions such as diabetes. Improving performance management is also important and we have made health inequalities one of the Department's top six priorities for the national health service, and it will be a mandatory target within local area agreements.
	We are also looking to spread best practice across all spearhead areas, and provide support for those areas that need it.
	 Assessment of spearhead area progress (70 local authority areas) against narrowing the local life expectancy gap with England( 1)
	 On track for both male and female life expectancy (13 areas)
	Hackney
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Lambeth
	Southwark
	Tower Hamlets
	St. Helens
	Coventry
	Stockton-on-Tees
	Warrington
	Carlisle
	Derwentside
	Hyndburn
	Nuneaton and Bedworth
	 On track for female life expectancy only (14 areas)
	Greenwich
	Haringey
	Bury
	Rochdale
	Tameside
	Barnsley
	Doncaster
	Gateshead
	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Birmingham
	Wolverhampton
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Rossendale
	Blyth Valley
	 On track for male life expectancy only (15 areas)
	Lewisham
	Newham
	Manchester
	Knowsley
	Wirral
	Walsall
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Chester-le-Street
	Sedgefield
	Wear Valley
	Preston
	Lincoln
	Corby
	Wansbeck
	Tamworth
	 Off track for male and female life expectancy (28 areas)
	Barking and Dagenham
	Islington
	Bolton
	Oldham
	Salford
	Wigan
	Liverpool
	Rotherham
	North Tyneside
	South Tyneside
	Sunderland
	Sandwell
	Bradford
	Wakefield
	Hartlepool
	Middlesbrough
	Halton
	Blackpool
	Kingston upon Hull, City of
	North East Lincolnshire
	Leicester
	Nottingham
	Stoke-on-Trent
	Barrow-in-Furness
	Bolsover
	Easington
	Burnley
	Pendle
	(1) The assessment is based on modelling a reduction of 10 per cent. in the gap with England for each spearhead area on the assumption that overall public service agreement life expectancy target for England to increase life expectancy at birth to 78.6 years for men, and to 82.5 years for women is reached. Confidence limits onthe data mean that there will be a degree of uncertainty in the assessments—the assessment is based on the mid-point of the confidence interval of life expectancy for the spearhead areas.

Hospital Food

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on hospital food and nutrition in each NHS trust in England in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: Information on the amount spent on provisions has been placed in the Library. Information is not collected on how much is spent on nutrition.
	The provisions data has been provided by national health service organisations to the Department of Health and has not been amended centrally. The completeness and accuracy of this data is the responsibility of the provider organisation.
	Up to 2003-04, provisions data was collected on a compulsory basis. From 2004-05 onwards, this data was provided voluntarily as part of a benchmarking exercise and therefore may be incomplete.

Hospital Food

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much was allocated to  (a) the Better Hospital Food Programme and  (b) the Eating Well in Hospitals scheme in each year since their inception; and if she will make a statement on her plans for each scheme;
	(2)  how much has been spent by central Government on improving hospital nutrition in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: Information is not available in the exact format requested.
	Between 2000 and 2005, around £34.5 million was spent on the better hospital food programme. This includes funding distributed directly to trusts, central initiatives such as the development of the menu planner and recipe book, and administrative costs for running the better hospital food panel.
	"Eating Well in Hospital" refers to a broad group of activities undertaken by a range of organisations, not to a specific Department of Health or national health service programme. There is no specific funding.
	The better hospital food programme closed in April 2006. It set an excellent foundation and resulted in measurable improvements in the quality and availability of hospital food. Taking this work forward is now a matter for local determination.

Independent Treatment Centres

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many NHS hospitals will have hosted independent treatment centres by December 2006;
	(2)  what the average cost to an NHS Trust of hosting one Independent Treatment Centre was in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: There are currently 14 open independent sector treatment centre facilities sited on national health service property with a further three facilities planned before December 2006. In addition one facility sited on NHS property has completed its contract.
	Arrangements are agreed locally but no 'hosting' costs should be incurred by the NHS body. The provider may pay the NHS rent for the use of the land or facility or for the provision of any services such as maintenance, cleaning, security etc.

Medical/Dental Staff

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS  (a) GPs and  (b) dentists there are in (i) absolute terms and (ii) per 1,000 population in (A) rural areas and (B) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The following table sets out the number of general practitioners and dentists in absolute terms and per 1,000 of the population, in England, by primary care trust type according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs classification.
	
		
			   All general medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  as at 30 September 2005  General dental services and personal dental services dentists( 2,3,4)  as at 31 March 2006 
			  PCT type( 5)  Number  Number per 1,000 of the population( 6)  Number  Number per 1,000 of the population( 6) 
			 Major urban 11,278 0.65 9,332 0.54 
			 Large urban 4,782 0.65 3,695 0.50 
			 Other urban 3,986 0.63 3,400 0.54 
			 Significant rural 4,165 0.63 3,182 0.49 
			 Rural-50 5,770 0.68 3,881 0.46 
			 Rural-80 2,757 0.69 1,779 0.45 
			 Total for England 32,738 0.65 21,111 0.42 
			 (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, general medical services others and personal medical services others.(2) The data has been summed from PCT results to obtain the split for each classification group. Some dentists may have an open GDS or PDS contract in more than one PCT and will therefore have been counted more than once. The total number of dentists given for England does not include duplication.(3) The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to PCTs.(4) A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the PCT. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual dentists are not centrally available.(5) This uses the Defra classification of PCTs developed by the Rural Evidence Research Centre at Birkbeck College. GP and dentist figures have been assigned at PCT level. The Birkbeck College classifications are as follows:Major urban: districts with either 100,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in urban areas with a population of more than 750,000.Large urban: districts with either 50,000 people or 50 per cent. of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000.Other urban: districts with fewer than 37,000 people or less than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.Significant rural: districts with more than 37,000 people or more than 26 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.Rural-50: districts with at least 50 per cent. but less than 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.Rural-80: districts with at least 80 per cent. of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.(6) Based on ONS mid-year 2004 population figures. Data for 2005 is not yet available and these figures are therefore subject to change. Source:The Information Centre for health and social care; NHS Business Services Authority; Office for National Statistics; DEFRA. 
		
	
	As at September 2005, there were 32,738 GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) this is an increase of 4,692 or 17 per cent, since 1997.

Medical/Dental Students

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) medical and  (b) dental students enrolled in each admitting institution in each year since 1997; how many staff were employed expressed (i) as a number of posts and (ii) as full-time equivalents; and what the staff to student ratio was in each year.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	The available figures are given in the tables. The figures include enrolments and staff at those English higher education institutions which offer medicine and dentistry courses. The Department does not calculate student staff ratios for individual higher education institutions or subjects. The available data does not allow us to identify, and exclude from the calculation, the amount of time staff spend teaching further education (as opposed to higher education) courses, and the number of students who are taught at other institutions under franchising arrangements. These factors have to be excluded from the calculation in order to produce an SSR purely for higher education provision in higher education institutions. We are therefore unable to produce individual HEI SSRs which are accurate and comparable across all institutions. An SSR for all HE institutions in England as a whole, which excludes time spent on FE teaching and students taught via franchising, is published annually by the Department. In 2004-05, the staff student ratio for English institutions as a whole (excluding the Open University) was 18.2.
	
		
			  Enrolments to 'Medicine' and 'Dentistry' at English HE Institutions with Medical Schools. 1997-98 to 2004-05 
			Change in methodology 
			  Institution  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Total Medicine and Dentistry 29,635 30,300 30,460 31,875 33,305 35,035 37,820 40,100 
			 Total of which Medicine: 25,650 25,855 25,915 26,795 27,930 30,390 33,045 35,035 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 2,215 2,295 1,855 1,690 1,585 2,885 2,955 3,040 
			 Kings College London(1) 1.070 2.940 2,835 3,095 2,955 2,915 3,055 3.135 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 1.500 1.510 1.635 1,595 1,710 1,730 1,825 1,975 
			 Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine(2) 730 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School 1,090 1,090 1.000 1,120 1,175 1,245 1,305 1,390 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's(1) 1,715 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London(2) 2,090 2,700 2,625 2,630 2,835 2,770 2,755 2,725 
			 University of Birmingham 1,225 1,230 1,295 1,380 1,550 1,605 1,880 2,060 
			 University of Brighton/University of Sussex 15 20 25 25 100 110 310 525 
			 University of Bristol 945 905 855 935 1,030 1,080 1,175 1,270 
			 University of Cambridge 1,355 1,415 1,415 1,455 1,525 1,560 1,615 1,665 
			 University of East Anglia 0 0 0 0 0 110 215 345 
			 University of Exeter/University of Plymouth 30 50 50 45 55 195 365 490 
			 University of Hull/University of York 15 20 20 25 20 35 170 340 
			 University of Leeds 1,515 1,635 1,620 1,610 1,670 1,730 1,855 1,630 
			 University of Leicester/University of Warwick 1,000 1,060 1,105 1,210 1,345 1,500 1,720 1,850 
			 University of Liverpool 1,505 1,625 1,850 1,920 1,820 1,625 1,695 1,810 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 1,965 2,015 2,015 2,140 2,275 2,550 2,755 3,005 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne/University of Durham 1,265 1,320 1,365 1,390 1,535 1,695 1,910 2,045 
			 University of Nottingham 1,350 1,380 1,400 1,505 1,590 1,665 1,735 1,880 
			 University of Oxford 865 850 695 720 785 1,980 1,190 1,285 
			 University of Sheffield 1,325 1,370 1,340 1,315 1,345 1,305 1,335 1,320 
			 University of Southampton 870 415 910 990 1,025 1,100 1,225 1,250 
			 Total of which Dentistry: 3,990 3,965 3,955 4,200 4,190 4,480 4,675 4,790 
			 Kings College London 340 900 900 895 915 855 860 875 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 345 335 350 355 390 375 395 420 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's 575 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London 225 255 275 340 410 420 430 320 
			 The University of Birmingham 350 355 355 350 385 390 395 410 
			 The University of Bristol 300 305 300 295 290 545 635 670 
			 University of Leeds 330 325 330 320 340 355 375 395 
			 The University of Liverpool 325 345 330 505 335 340 345 385 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 460 405 395 420 385 415 455 485 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne/University of Durham 395 395 390 390 410 430 425 435 
			 The University of Sheffield 340 345 335 330 335 355 360 395 
			 Total of which Others within Medicine and Dentistry (2002-03 onwards): ? ? ? ? ? 165 100 270 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College ? ? ? ? ? 15 15 15 
			 University of Birmingham ? ? ? ? ? (3)? 0 25 
			 University of Leeds ? ? ? ? ? 0 0 65 
			 University of Liverpool ? ? ? ? ? 110 45 (3)? 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele ? ? ? ? ? 40 35 50 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne/University of Durham ? ? ? ? ? 0 0 110 
			 University of Southampton ? ? ? ? ? 0 5 5 
			 Total of which Combinations within Medicine and Dentistry: 0 480 595 875 1,185 0 0 0 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 0 0 595 875 1,185 0 0 0 
			 University of Southampton 0 480 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's merged with Kings College London in 1998-99.(2) Royal Free Hospital Medical School merged with University College London in 1998-99.(3 )Number greater than zero but less than 3. Note:Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December (excluding those writing up, on sabbatical and dormant). Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.In 2002-03, a new method of recording subject of study was introduced. As such, figures for 2002-03 onwards are not directly comparable to figures for 2001-02. Source:Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record. 
		
	
	
		
			  Staff within the cost centres of 'Clinical Medicine' and 'Clinical Dentistry' at English HE Institutions with Medical Schools. 1997-98 to 2004-05, Staff whose employment function is 'Teaching only' or 'Teaching and Research' 
			   Headcount 
			 Change in methodology 
			  HE institution  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Clinical medicine 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 620 575 640 615 495 495 470 465 
			 Kings College London(1,2) 355 610 560 530 515 490 440 410 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 375 355 335 330 310 300 235 230 
			 Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine(3) 115 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School 255 235 245 195 270 350 155 190 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital(1) 305 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London(3) 510 635 705 725 710 655 605 660 
			 University of Birmingham 300 235 235 240 235 235 215 225 
			 University of Brighton/University of Sussex 0 0 0 0 (4)? 5 15 40 
			 University of Bristol 190 210 200 210 210 210 205 165 
			 University of Cambridge 150 160 150 155 160 170 170 170 
			 University of East Anglia 0 0 0 5 10 25 15 55 
			 University of Exeter/University of Plymouth 20 75 85 100 110 130 135 135 
			 University of Hull/University of York 40 40 40 45 60 65 70 60 
			 University of Leeds 205 195 195 190 190 185 165 160 
			 University of Leicester/University of Warwick 175 180 180 180 190 200 200 185 
			 University of Liverpool 200 205 210 200 200 210 190 195 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 500 445 405 415 400 425 390 365 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 365 270 270 290 260 265 270 260 
			 University of Nottingham 230 215 215 215 200 210 265 270 
			 University of Oxford 135 140 135 145 145 150 125 120 
			 University of Sheffield 205 220 235 245 240 245 230 225 
			 University of Southampton 125 130 125 130 135 135 125 120 
			 Total 5,380 5,110 5,170 5,160 5,050 5,160 4,700 4,715 
			  
			 Clinical dentistry 
			 Kings College London(1,2) 60 150 145 140 130 120 215 210 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 80 70 70 75 60 60 75 75 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital(1) 85 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London(3) 60 95 75 70 65 65 60 60 
			 University of Birmingham 35 40 45 45 40 40 70 75 
			 University of Bristol 35 35 40 40 40 40 50 40 
			 University of Leeds 50 50 45 50 50 50 40 45 
			 University of Liverpool 40 40 40 45 45 40 65 60 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 80 65 60 60 55 55 65 65 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 40 40 40 40 45 45 35 35 
			 University of Sheffield 40 40 40 40 45 40 40 40 
			 Total 605 625 605 605 575 560 725 705 
		
	
	
		
			   Full time equivalent 
			 Change in methodology 
			  HE institution  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Clinical medicine 
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 560 515 535 505 440 435 445 440 
			 Kings College London(1,2) 310 545 505 485 430 420 410 375 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 240 280 255 240 255 235 205 200 
			 Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine(3) 110 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 St George's Hospital Medical School 195 185 190 155 185 225 130 165 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital(1) 275 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London(3) 420 545 590 615 535 575 565 615 
			 University of Birmingham 245 205 205 200 205 200 200 205 
			 University of Brighton/University of Sussex 0 0 0 0 (4)? 5 15 20 
			 University of Bristol 170 180 175 175 185 185 185 145 
			 University of Cambridge 135 145 140 145 145 155 160 165 
			 University of East Anglia 0 0 0 (4)? 10 15 15 45 
			 University of Exeter/University of Plymouth 15 40 55 60 70 80 85 90 
			 University of Hull/University of York 25 30 35 40 50 55 60 55 
			 University of Leeds 175 165 170 160 160 160 155 150 
			 University of Leicester/University of Warwick 150 165 160 155 155 160 180 170 
			 University of Liverpool 170 170 175 165 170 180 175 180 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 340 320 310 305 310 335 345 340 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 305 205 210 205 200 205 245 240 
			 University of Nottingham 195 185 180 185 175 185 200 200 
			 University of Oxford 115 115 125 125 125 130 130 130 
			 University of Sheffield 185 195 215 230 225 230 215 215 
			 University of Southampton 105 105 105 115 120 120 120 110 
			 Total 4,450 4,295 4,335 4,270 4,150 4,285 4,245 4,250 
			  
			 Clinical dentistry 
			 Kings College London(1,2) 50 130 120 125 105 95 120 115 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College 45 55 50 45 45 45 50 50 
			 United Medical and Dental Schools Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital(1) 75 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 University College London(3) 50 75 55 50 50 45 50 50 
			 University of Birmingham 30 35 35 35 35 35 40 40 
			 University of Bristol 30 30 35 35 35 30 35 30 
			 University of Leeds 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 
			 University of Liverpool 35 35 35 35 35 35 40 40 
			 University of Manchester/University of Keele 50 45 45 45 40 45 50 50 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 40 35 35 40 40 40 40 35 
			 University of Sheffield 35 35 35 35 40 35 40 40 
			 Total 485 515 485 490 465 445 495 485 
			 (1) United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St. Thomas's merged with Kings College London in 1998-99.(2) The apparent large jump in figures for Dentistry staff at Kings College London in 2003-04 is accounted for by the inclusion of around 100 staff on less that 25+ FTE (which would not have been collected on the previous records).(3) Royal Free Hospital Medical School merged with University College London in 1998-99.(4 )Number greater than zero but less than 3. Note:Figures for 2002-03 and earlier are based upon individual academic appointments (of at least 25 per cent. of a full-time equivalent member of staff) active during the academic year whose primary employment function is teaching only, teaching and research. For 2003-04 onwards, staff with a full time equivalent of less than 25 per cent. are included and as such the two sets of figures are not comparable.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) staff record

Mental Health

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors were taken into account in deciding that the measures outlined in the White Paper, "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", should not apply to mental health services.

Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to his previous question on 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1532W. This explained that the Department had written to strategic health authority chief executives and performance managers on 16 February 2006, reminding them of the obligations upon primary care trusts when deciding the future of community hospitals, as outlined in the White Paper "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services".
	The 16 February letter relates only to consultations about the future of community hospitals, not to mental health trusts. Where applicable, these have carried out separate consultations, and the Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust began a five week consultation on the future of mental health services in its area in June.
	The White Paper outlines our intention to provide more care in local, convenient settings such as new community hospitals. In many ways, this move is in line with what has been happening in mental health services since the national service framework was published in 1999. The White Paper mentions our plans for mental health services, which are featured prominently throughout. For example, we made a manifesto commitment to improve access to evidence-based psychological therapies, and reinforced this in the White Paper, which includes the following commitments:
	"Enabling health, independence and well-being better support for mental health and emotional well-being: promoting good practice; demonstration sites for people of working age, as part of our action to help people with health conditions and disabilities to remain in, or return to, work; access to computerised cognitive behaviour therapy (Page 24, chapter two, Health, independence and well-being)."
	Copies of the White Paper are available in the Library and it is available on the Department's website at dh.gov.uk/asstRoot/04/12/74/59/04127459.pdf.

Ministerial Visits

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospitals  (a) she and  (b) each of her Ministers has visited since 13 June.

Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State for Health and each of her Ministers have visited the following national health service hospitals since 13 June 2006.
	
		
			   Hospital  Visited by 
			  2006   
			 16 June 2006 Selly Oak Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 26 June Norwich Community Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 26 June Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 26 June Cambridge Mental Health Trust Secretary of State for Health 
			 27 June Prospect Park Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 14 July Mill View Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 14 July Royal Sussex University Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 25 July Cirencester Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 25 July Royal Bath University Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 7 September James Cook university Hospital Secretary of State for Health 
			 20 June St. Bartholomews Hospital Lord Warner Minister of State 
			 4 July Edgware Community Hospital Lord Warner Minister of State 
			 26 July St. Georges Hospital, Stafford Lord Warner Minister of State 
			 28 June Queen Elizabeth Hospital Woolwich Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 3 July Tameside General Hospital Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 11 July Luton and Dunstable Hospital Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 21 July Merrick House Mental Health Trust Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 24 July Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 26 July Taunton and Somerset Hospital Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 27 July Peterborough District Hospital Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 18 August Salford Royal Foundation Trust Andy Burnham Minister of State 
			 14 June Medway Hospital Trust Caroline Flint Minister of State

NHS Dentistry

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentist surgeries there are in the East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust area; and how many of these are not accepting new NHS patients.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 11 September 2006
	As at 31 March 2006, there were 29 NHS dental practices in the general dental services (GDS), or personal dental services (PDS) within East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust (PCT).
	Data on dentists accepting or not accepting new NHS patients is not centrally available.
	Information on the number of dentists or dental practices who have signed the new contract and the number who have not signed is not available centrally.
	We do however have some provisional information that covers contracts. A contract may be for more than one dentist so cannot be broken down further to individual dentist level. Provisional management estimates show that in East Yorkshire PCT:
	
		
			   Number/percentage 
			  Contracts signed  
			 A: Number 21 
			 B: Approximate UDA value 177,107 
			   
			  Contracts still in discussion  
			 C: Number 0 
			 D: Approximate UDA value 0 
			   
			  Contracts rejected  
			 E: Number 15 
			 F: Approximate UDA value 29,325 
			 Percentage UDAs 14.2 
			   
			  Contracts signed  
			 G: Number signed without dispute 18 
			 H: Number signed in dispute 3 
			 Percentage disputes 14.3 
			  Notes:1. Data includes all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS, received by the NHS Business Services Authority, up to 23 March 2006. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, e.g. data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.2. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded.3. The postcode of the Dental Practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. Constituency areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics All Fields Postcode Directory.4. Data on the number of dentists working only in private practice are not held centrally. 
		
	
	Primary care trusts are working with dentists to resolve as many disputes as possible locally.

NHS Finance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which of the acute hospital trusts which experienced a budget deficit in 2005-06 have plans  (a) to recover the whole of the deficit,  (b) to recover more than 50 per cent. of the deficit,  (c) to recover less than 50 per cent. of the deficit and  (d) to recover little or none of the deficit but achieve a balanced budget within the 2006-07 financial year; and what the amount of deficit incurred in 2005-06 was in each case;
	(2)  what sanctions are available to her Department to ensure that trusts which have a substantial deficit outturn for 2005-06 are required to take action to recover balance within an agreed timetable; and which trusts have not yet satisfied her Department that they have plans in place to achieve balance.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The aim is for the national health service as a whole to achieve financial balance by the end of 2006-07.
	It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities (SHAs) to deliver overall financial balance by developing and implementing a service and financial strategy for managing the financial position within their locality. All NHS organisations that overspend are required to develop recovery plans to return to financial balance. Recovery plans are agreed and managed by SHAs, not the Department. There is a degree of flexibility, however, in how this is managed at a local level. SHAs can agree a recovery plan which phases the recovery of deficits over a number of years. NHS trusts have a three-year period to recover their deficit. This period can be extended to five years in exceptional circumstances.
	SHAs are accountable to the Department for the financial performance of the organisations within their own health economy. The Department will work with the SHAs, through enhanced performance management procedures, to ensure that overall net financial balance is returned to the NHS, and improvements are made to the financial position of all individual organisations in deficit.
	The 2005-06 provisional outturn financial figures of all NHS organisations was announced on 7 June 2006 and is available in the Library.

NHS Logistics Authority

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure thatthe contract between the Department of Healthand DHL in relation to the functions of the NHS Logistics Authority will ensure that hospitals and clinicians using the service are offered a choice of products.

Andy Burnham: DHL will establish clinical councils to ensure that there is clinical input into the choice of products included in the catalogue range. DHL will work closely with the new collaborative procurement hubs to make sure that each region is getting the range its clinicians need, and, at competitive prices.

Non-medical Professional Regulation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has received a copy of the draft report by the chief medical officer into medical regulation; and when she expects the final report to be published.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to thereply given to him on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1117W.

Nursing Education

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice has been given to education authorities on the level of grants they should provide to private sector providers of nursing education; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Neither the Department or the Department for Education and Skills directly commission or grant fund private sector providers of nursing education via education authorities, therefore neither Department provides formal advice on this issue to them.

Patient Advocacy

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable there is for strengthening the involvement of the public in the work of the health overview and scrutiny committees in local authorities.

Rosie Winterton: As set out in "A stronger local voice", we plan to establish new local involvement networks (LINks) to provide flexible ways for communities to engage with health and social care organisations in ways that best suit the communities and the people in them.
	There will be one LINk for each local authority area with social services responsibilities and as such, they will be able to develop a close relationship with the overview and scrutiny committee (OSC) with which they will be coterminous, informing the OSC on the public needs and experiences, enabling the OSCs to pursue critical issues based of the evidence of users' experience. LINks will also have the power to refer matters to OSCs and receive an appropriate response.
	These plans will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.

Project 2000

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of Project 2000; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: A major review of Project 2000 was commissioned by the Department and its findings published in 1991. Entitled fitness to practice, it resulted in adaptations to the pre-registration programme. In addition to this large-scale evaluation, we have funded studies on various aspects of nurse education and continue to do so.

Public Involvement Forums

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the proposals in the Government's publication A Stronger Local Voice, when detailed proposals for the powers of  (a) hospital and  (b) ambulance patient and public involvement forums are expected to be available.

Rosie Winterton: We are currently analysing the many responses to "A stronger local voice", and once this process has been finalised, further details will be made available.

Sexual Health

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the progress towards implementing the plans outlined in the White Paper, Choosing Health, to treat sexual health services as a priority issue;
	(2)  what progress has been made towards implementing changes to the provision of sexual health services, as outlined in the White Paper, Choosing Health; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Sexual health and improving access to genitor-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics is one of the top six priorities for the national health service in 2006-07. The White Paper "Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier" published in November 2004, a copy of which is available in the Library, made a number of commitments to improve sexual health including a target that everyone should be offered an appointment within 48 hours of contacting a GUM clinic by 2008. Strategic health authorities have submitted plans to meet this target.
	Overall, the number of attendees at GUM clinics seen within 48 hours in England increased from 45 per cent. in May 2005 to 54 per cent. in May 2006 and a further 4 per cent. were offered an appointment but chose not to attend.
	The "Choosing Health" White Paper also announced an accelerated timetable to achieve national roll out of the National Chlamydia screening programme. We have rolled out the screening programme successfully to over 25 per cent. of primary care trusts (PCTs) and many other PCTs will begin screening during 2006.
	We have also taken forward the commitment that as well as the national programme we will take steps to introduce and evaluate the effectiveness of Chlamydia screening in retail pharmacies starting in London. We have contracted Boots the Chemists to evaluate the potential of retail pharmacies as Chlamydia screening venues. Screening started on 14 November 2005. This two year pilot will be independently evaluated by TNS Healthcare.
	We have also undertaken the audit of contraceptive provision. PCTs were recently asked to complete a national baseline questionnaire of contraceptive services. The results will inform the publication of best practice guidance by the Department of Health and will help PCTs determine how best to meet gaps in local services. We have also recently reduced the value added tax rate on condoms and other contraceptives, making the costs of these items more affordable and are working with the industry to increase the supply of free condoms to high risk groups.
	Later this year we will be launching a new sexual health campaign. The campaign will target 16 to 34-year-old young adults, highlighting the risks of unprotected sex and the benefits of condom use to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy.
	This increased priority for sexual health and the implementation of "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services", a copy of which is available in the Library, should significantly strengthen the incentive for local investment and service modernisation.

Sexual Health

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions her Department has had with strategic health authorities on spendingon sexual health services; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Officials in the Department regularly meet with officials from strategic health authorities to discuss a number of issues. These discussions are focused on the delivery of key targets for sexual health rather than funding issues which are a local matter for primary care trusts.

British Nationals (Foreign Prisons)

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for which British nationals in foreign prisons the Government has asked for clemency or for release in the past 15 years; and what the reasons were in each case.

Ian McCartney: We do not ask for clemency or release for British nationals in foreign prisons but will support a plea for clemency made by a prisoner in certain circumstances. Our clemency policy is outlined in an answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) by my hon. Friend the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State (Brian Wilson) on 2 May 2001,  Official Report, column 629W. Specific details on cases for which we have supported pleas for clemency are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Additionally, for data protection reasons, we cannot give out names of individuals for whom we have supported clemency pleas.

Carbon Emissions

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps her Department is taking towards being carbon neutral.

Geoff Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 490-91W, to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to achieving carbon neutrality on our estate by 2012.

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she received advice from Mockbul Ali in respect of the admission to the United Kingdom of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi.

Ian McCartney: It is not Foreign and Commonwealth Office policy to comment publicly on named civil servants, nor comment on individual entry clearance applications.

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when she made a decision on issuing a visa for the recent visit of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi to the UK.

Ian McCartney: I cannot comment on individual cases. However, all applicants must meet the entry clearance criteria/ immigration controls, as set out on the UKvisas website at www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

EU (Accession)

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's policy is on the suspension of any part of negotiations for Turkish accession to the EU in response to Turkey's refusal to open its ports and airports to Cypriot vessels and aircraft.

Geoff Hoon: The UK wholeheartedly supports Turkey's EU accession and was delighted that the EU opened negotiations with Turkey under the UK's presidency. The hon. Member rightly raises the important issue of Turkey's implementation of the Ankara Agreement Protocol, and we continue to convey to the Turkish government the need to implement this obligation. We continue to support the EU's declaration of 21 September 2005, which inter alia said that
	"the EU would evaluate full implementation in 2006".

Iran

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is her policy that the recent Iranian report regarding that country's nuclear programme should be made available to all EU foreign Ministers.

Kim Howells: EU High Representative Javier Solana presented Iran with a set of far-reaching proposals on behalf of the 'E3+3' (France, Germany, UK + China, Russia, US) on 6 June 2006. The proposals would give Iran everything it needs to develop a modern civil nuclear power generation industry, and other benefits, while meeting international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme. On 22 August 2006, the Secretary General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, met E3+3 representatives in Tehran. Disappointingly, he did not say that Iran wouldtake the steps required for negotiations to begin, including a full suspension of all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities as required by the International Atomic Energy Agency/Board of Governors and the UN Security Council. We have briefed our EU partners in detail on Dr. Larijani's comments. EU foreign Ministers discussed next steps when they met on 1-2 September 2006, and will do so again on 15 September 2006. We continue to urge Iran to take the positive path on offer.

Iraq

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action her Department is taking to assist the Assyrian community in Iraq.

Ian McCartney: The Government continue to promote the rights and freedoms of minorities in Iraq through its regular contacts with the Government of Iraq, political and religious leaders, including Assyrians, and civil society. We welcome provisions in Iraq's constitution, which guarantee democratic principles and rights and freedoms of all individuals, including the freedom of worship. We continue to encourage the Iraqi Government to ensure these rights are protected and enforced, and we raise with them any issues of concern that come to our attention.

Middle East

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civilian British nationals were evacuated from Lebanon during the recent conflict; and how many chose to remain.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) conducted a phased evacuation of some 4,600 people, of which 2,230 were British passport holders, from Beirut to Cyprus. The remainder were family members of British passport holders and nationals of EU, Commonwealth and other countries. Of the total number, we transported 2,250 from Cyprus to the UK. Many others left Lebanon independently.
	Despite a major communication effort through the media, the FCO website and the 'Know Before You Go' Campaign to encourage British nationals to register with our embassy in Beirut, many British nationals in Lebanon chose not to tell the embassy of their presence in the country. We can therefore only estimate that a maximum of 2,000 British nationals remained in Lebanon after our evacuation ended.

Middle East

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to her oral answer of 25 July 2006,  Official Report, column 720W, to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman), on the middle east, what definition she uses of Islamic nation.

Ian McCartney: Islamic countries or nations can be defined as those where a majority of the population are Muslims—or a nation that regards itself as Islamic. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference Membership list presents a useful reference point, towards defining Islamic nations, since many of those countries regard themselves as such.

Palestine

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has received on the arrest of Abdel Aziz Dweik; what representations she has made about his arrest; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We continue to have concerns about the detention of members of the Palestinian Government and Legislature including Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Abdel Aziz Dweik. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and EU foreign Ministers have called for their immediate release. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised the detentions with the Israeli Government.

Palestine

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her Department's policy is on  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) the European Union entering into dialogue with Hamas.

Ian McCartney: The UK suspended contacts with Hamas in June 2005. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 10 April 2006, EU foreign Ministers agreed that there should be no contacts at a political level with the new Hamas led Palestinian authority government.
	Hamas know what they have to do for the international community to engage with them; renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap. Hamas need to start implementing these principles and make clear the path they intend to take.

Palestine

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Palestinian Government with respect to its needs in ensuring safety and prosperity for its people.

Kim Howells: The UK suspended contacts with Hamas in June 2005. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has therefore had no discussions with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) Government.
	We have continued to stay in regular contact with the President of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas. Most recently my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met with President Abbas on 10 September during his visit to the Middle East when of course the safety and prosperity of the Palestinian people was a central theme to their discussions.
	We have been working for some time with the PA to improve the security apparatus in the West Bank and Gaza, through technical assistance and provision of equipment. We co-ordinate our work with US Security Co-ordinator General William Ward's team to assist the PA in consolidating and expanding their efforts on security. We are also working closely with EU partners on a significant assistance project for Palestinian civil policing.
	The Government are committed to continue helping the Palestinian people. With a range of partners, we have worked hard to establish the "Temporary International Mechanism" which has been drawn up to provide needs-based assistance directly to the Palestinian people, without the need to channel funds through the Hamas-led Palestinian Government. The UK will contribute up to £12 million to the mechanism. Additionally, the Government announced on 25 April 2006 a UK contribution of £15 million to support the work of the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East, which supports Palestinian refugees throughout the region, including in Israel and Lebanon. The UK has a strong record of support for the Palestinian people. Since 2001, we have provided £147 million, in addition to our contributions through the EU, which is the biggest donor to the Palestinian people.

Qualified Majority Voting

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is the Government's policy to support the extension of qualified majority voting in the EU in the field of police and home affairs.

Geoff Hoon: The Government are giving careful consideration to the proposals contained in the Commission's Communication 'Implementing the Hague Programme: the Way Forward'. We welcome efforts to take forward EU work in the Justice and Home Affairs field. In that context, the Finnish presidency have proposed discussion on the use of the Article 42 'passerelle', one consequence of which could be the application of qualified majority voting to some parts of EU police and judicial co-operation. We will need to be satisfied that any proposals would genuinely improve the decision making process, and that such a move would be in the UK's national interest.

Sri Lanka

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the UK Government is taking to assist the government and people of Sri Lanka  (a) to achieve a lasting internal peace agreement and  (b) to promote civil and political rights for all citizens.

Kim Howells: Throughout the escalation in violence over recent months we have made our concerns clear in meetings at the highest levels, with the Government of Sri Lanka and also with political representatives ofthe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. President Rajapakse, Foreign Minister Samaraweera, and senior Sri Lankan officials met my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister at Chequers on 31 August 2006. The talks focused on the internal security situation in Sri Lanka and the state of the peace process. We are also in close contact with the Government of Norway as the peace process facilitators and we make clear to both sides our full support of their efforts.
	We have been deeply concerned following the reports of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, the International Commission of Jurists, about the deteriorating human rights situation in the North and East. Any abuse is to be deplored. We welcome President Rajapakse's proposal to,
	"invite an international independent commission to probe abductions, disappearances and extra-judicial killings in all areas of the country".
	We agree with the United Nations Special Rapporteur, on extra-Judicial killings, Philip Alston's, statement that the commission must be independent, credible and effective and that the advice of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights would facilitate the establishment of such a commission.

Visas

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for visitors' visas from  (a) Australia,  (b) Canada and  (c) South Africa were refused between (i) January and June 2004, (ii) January and June 2005 and (iii) January and June 2006.

Kim Howells: The information requested by the hon. Member is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			  Visitor applications for Australia, Canada and South Africa with the refusals. 
			   Visitor (including family visits) 
			   Australia  Canada  South Africa 
			   Received  Refused  Received  Refused  Received  Refused 
			 April 2004—March 2005(1) 2,282 30 13,650 155 4,534 2,077 
			 January 2005—June 2005 1,238 13 5,430 31 1,889 816 
			 January 2006—June 2006 1,234 30 4,744 135 2,103 835 
		
	
	
		
			   Visitor (excluding family visits) 
			   Australia  Canada  South Africa 
			   Received  Refused  Received  Refused  Received  Refused 
			 April 2004—March 2005(1) 2,065 29 10,358 115 3,515 1,543 
			 January 2005—June 2005 1,089 13 2,795 23 1,351 557 
			 January 2006—June 06 1,074 28 2,287 85 1,525 554 
			  Note:These figures have not published and should only be used for information. Please note that during 2004-05, only family visits were recorded by month, not visits. Therefore the annual published for financial year 2004-05 has been stated. Sources:(1) April 2004—March 2005 = Published Entry Clearance StatisticsJanuary—June 2005 = Monthly Statistical Returns—7 September 2006January—June 2006 = Monthly Statistical Returns—7 September 2006

Zimbabwe

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will investigate claims that women deported from the UK to Zimbabwe have been attacked and sexually abused after returning to Zimbabwe.

Ian McCartney: We take allegations of abuse in Zimbabwe extremely seriously. We have therefore put in place enhanced monitoring procedures, including an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration, to monitor the treatment of immigration offenders who have returned from the UK to Zimbabwe. In their 2 August determination, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal found that returnees are not at real risk of mistreatment on return to Zimbabwe by virtue of being returned from the UK. If the hon. Member has any new evidence of such attacks or abuse, we would be grateful if he could pass it to us.
	We are concerned about the broader human rights situation in Zimbabwe and take this up with the Government of Zimbabwe, directly and together with our international partners.

Arms Trade

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what export licences to Israel were refused on the ground of  (a) aggressive use,  (b) contribution to regional conflict,  (c) human rights abuses and  (d) internal repression in each of the last 10 years; and if he will publish the information held by his Department on the use of UK military equipment by Israel in the occupied territories in that period.

Margaret Hodge: The Government publish details of refused export licence applications by destination, and the main reasons for its decisions, in its annual and quarterly reports on Strategic Export Controls. The Government's annual reports are available from the Libraries of the House, and the quarterly reports from the DTI Export Control Organisation website at http://www.dti.gov.uk/europeantrade/strategic-export-control/index.html
	The Department does not hold information on the use of UK military equipment abroad.

Companies Bill

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations the Government have contacted in its latest consultation on the Companies Bill.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The Department invites comment from organisations and individuals who have expressed an interest in being kept informed on matters relating to the Companies Bill, and also publishes material on its website (www.dti.gov.uk). Recently, this has included a paper on the application of the Bill to existing companies. DTI officials contacted over 170 organisations and over 120 private individuals to invite representations in writing and will be meeting with a wide range of organisations. A list of the organisations that were contacted has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Company Directors

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government plan to publish a non-statutory set of guidelines on the duties and responsibilities of company directors.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The Government recognise that it is important that the law in relation to the duties and responsibilities of company directors is accessible and widely understood. It therefore intends to publish plain language guidance on the duties and responsibilities of directors as part of its implementation of the Companies Bill, including the general duties under part 10 of the Bill.

Consumer Protection

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has received on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive; and what assessment he has made of the effects of the implementation of the directive on the powers available to consumer protection agencies.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI has held two public consultations on the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The most recent, in December 2005, received 69 formal responses including responses from: consumer bodies, business and business organisations, trading standards departments, regulators, professional institutions and academics. A summary of these is on the Department's website. The DTI also held a number of workshops before and during the consultation process with consumer groups, enforcers and business representatives. It has also held numerous public presentations. In addition, the Department recently received eight letters from Members of Parliament and another from a local government central body that advises and supports local authority regulatory services.
	Implementation of the directive is overseen by a project board including representatives from the enforcement community. It is also informed by a stakeholder board consisting of representatives from business and consumer groups and enforcement authorities.
	In light of comments received, the Government are still considering how best to implement the directive. Yet implementation offers an opportunity to enhance the powers available to enforcement authorities. Options include: retaining existing criminal offences and investigative powers; and extending these to the new protections contained in the directive. Such powers might also, for the first time, be made available to a national consumer protection body, the Office of Fair Trading. The Government will clarify its intentions when it publishes response to its consultation paper.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will provide a corrected reply to the letter of 12 July 2006 from the hon. Member for Walsall North regarding a constituent, ref AE/587654.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	A corrected reply was sent on 22 August. I am sorry the wrong response was sent previously.

Energy Efficiency

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps are being taken towards making the operation of the Department carbon neutral.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The DTI are committed to energy efficiency targets and reduction in carbon emissions as set out in the "Framework for Sustainable Development in Government".
	Over the past two years the Department has reduced its London HQ estate by over 30 per cent. with a corresponding reduction in all the associated environmental impacts. More efficient use has been made of existing accommodation and the Department has adopted flexible desking on the basis of eight workstations for every 10 staff.
	Other carbon reduction initiatives include purchasing nearly a third of our electricity from renewable sources between 1999-2000 and 2004-05. We want to purchase more "green" electricity and are considering other renewable sources.

Export Control Act

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his answer on 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1751W, on the Export Control Act, when he plans to produce and publish the terms of reference for the planned review; how many members of staff within the Export Control Organisation will be involved; which independent parties will be consulted; and what the planned  (a) start and  (b) end date is for the review.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	As indicated in my response to the hon. Member's question of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1751W, it is my intention to start the review of the regulations introduced under the Export Control Act after they have been in force for three years i.e. from May 2007. I have yet to decide the details of the review. There will be a public consultation. The review will involve a range of staff from across the Export Control Organisation and its advisory departments, but it is not possible to say precisely how many.

Import Licences

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what import licences have been issued since 2003 for small arms and light weapons from  (a) Serbia and Montenegro,  (b) the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,  (c) Romania,  (d) Ukraine,  (e) Albania,  (f) Bulgaria,  (g) Croatia and  (h) Kosovo to the UK; and what quantity of goods was allowed by each licence.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 11 September 2006
	Details of import licences issued from 1 January 2005 that would allow the import from (a) Serbia and Montenegro (SM),  (b) the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MK),  (c) Romania (RO),  (d) Ukraine (UA),  (e) Albania (AL),  (f) Bulgaria (BG),  (g) Croatia (HR) and  (h) Kosovo (XK) of small arms and light weapons (as defined by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) are listed. Similar lists for 2003 and 2004 could be drawn up in the time available only at disproportionate costs.
	The list is divided into those licences for which the applicant has provided a specific country of consignment and those licences where the applicant has simply stated that the goods are consigned from any country except a member state of the European Union. The code for the latter licences is "AY".
	
		
			  Import licences issued from 1 January 2005 to date 
			 AY 4 x DLASK Arms M4 5.56 calibre 
			 AY 60 x Pistols 
			 AY 50 x Handguns / machine pistols / silencers 
			 AY 45 x Shotguns / 5 x silencers 
			 AY 45 x Assorted prohibited weapons 
			 AY 500 x Assorted prohibited firearms and component parts 
			 AY 6,380 x Assorted prohibited firearms 
			 AY 358,725 x Assorted prohibited weapons 
			 AY 500 x Weapons and ammunition—Sections 5(1)(c) and 5(1A)(b) of the Firearms Act 1968, as amended 
			 AY 5,000 x Automatic weapons of all types 
			 AY 1,000 x Semi-automatic rifles and carbines 
			 AY 200 x Short-barrelled shotguns 
			 AY 50 x Rocket launchers, grenade launchers or mortars 
			 AY 2,000 x Handguns 
			 AY 12 x Weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 12 x Section 5(1)(ab) / 12 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) 
			 AY 100,000 x Weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 50,000 x weapons under 5(1)(ab) 
			 AY 500 x Assorted prohibited firearms and component parts 
			 AY 47,800 x Assorted prohibited firearms and component parts 
			 AY 40 x Handguns / 5 x machine pistols / 5 x silencers 
			 AY 45 x Shotguns / 5 x silencers 
			 AY No more than 45 in total x submachine guns, light machine guns, medium machine guns, heavy machine guns, automatic cannons, assault rifles/carbines, self-loading rifles, self-loading rifles/carbines, automatic rifles/carbines, pump action rifles/carbines 
			 AY Unlimited assorted prohibited firearms 
			 AY 6,470 x Assorted prohibited firearms 
			 AY 100 x Handguns 
			 AY 358,725 x Assorted prohibited weapons 
			 AY 500 x Automatic weapons of all types 
			 AY 1,000 x Semi-automatic rifles and carbines 
			 AY 200 x Short-barrelled shotguns 
			 AY 50 x Rocket launchers, grenade launchers or mortars 
			 AY 2,000 x Handguns 
			 AY 36 x Assorted prohibited weapons 
			 AY 20,450 x Assorted prohibited weapons 
			 AY 47,800 x Assorted prohibited firearms and component parts 
			 AY 1,000 x Assorted prohibited firearms and component parts 
			 AY No more than 13,000 in total x weapons under Sections 5(1)(a), 5(1)(ab), (ac) and (ae) / 1,300 x weapons under Section 5(1)(b) / 500 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) / 25,000 x weapons under Sections 5(1)(c), 5(1A)(d) and 5(1A)(e) 
			 AY 10 x .223 semi-automatic rifles/carbines 
			 AY 110 x Lightweight multiple launchers / 10 x vehicle missile launchers / 75 x automatic, semi-automatic rifles, Carbines / 25 machine guns / 15 grenade launchers / 2 x drill anti-tank weapons / 500 x shoulder launch aiming units 
			 AY No more than 500 in total x prohibited weapons and prohibited ammunition 
			 AY 5,000 x Automatic weapons of all types 
			 AY 1,000 x Semi-automatic (self-loading) rifles and carbines of all types 
			 AY 200 x Short-barrelled shotguns fed by slide, pump or lever action or by self-loading mechanism 
			 AY 50 x Rocket Launchers, grenade launchers or mortars of all types 
			 AY 2,000 x large and small calibre pistols and revolvers (handguns) of all types 
			 AY 100 x pistols under Section 5(1)(aba) 
			 AY No more than 10,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 600 x 5(1)(ab) / 6000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) / 100 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ac) / 3,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ae) 
			 AY No more than 10,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 600 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ab) / 6,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) / 100 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ac) / 3,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ae) 
			 AY No more than 75 x medium machine guns, submachine guns, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, automatic cannon, cannon, assault rifles/carbines, self-loading rifles/carbines, automatic rifles/carbines, pump action rifles/carbines 
			 AY 60 x Handguns (Cal. 2mm-27mm/.172-1") 
			 AY 45 x Shotguns (pump, revolver, semi-automatic, automatic) 
			 AY No more than 45 shotguns in total of the following types: pump, revolver, semi-automatic, automatic 
			 AY No more than 75 x medium machine guns, submachine guns, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, automatic cannon, cannon, assault rifles/carbines, self-loading rifles/carbines, automatic rifles/carbines, pump action rifles/carbines 
			 AY 10 x Derringer, 30 x handguns, 5 x machine pistols 
			 AY 12 x Weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 12 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ab) / 12 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) 
			 AY No more than 200 x weapons under Section 5(1)(a), 5(1)(ab), 5(1)(ac), 5(1)(ad), 5(1)(ae) and 5(1A)(c) / No more than 150 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) 
			 AY No more than 10,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 600 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ab) / 6,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) / 100 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ac) / 3,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ae) / 750 x anti-riot guns / 600,000 component parts for weapons under Section 5(1)(a) and 5(1)(aba) / 700,000 rounds of ammunition under Section 5(1A)(e) 
			 AY No more than 10,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(a) / 600 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ab) / 6,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(aba) / 100 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ac) / 3,000 x weapons under Section 5(1)(ae) / 750 x anti-riot guns / 600,000 component parts for weapons under Section 5(1)(a) and 5(1)(aba) / 700,000 rounds of ammunition under Section 5(1A)(e) 
			 AY 6,300 x 9mm pistols / 90,000 x rounds of 12.7mm ammunition 
			 AY 90 x 12.7mm machine guns / 85 x 7.62mm machine guns / 12 x 7.62mm sniper rifles 
			 AY Unlimited grenade launchers, anti-tank weapons, helicopter mounted missile launchers, air-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, shoulder launch aiming units and practice missiles 
			 AY 2 x Anti-tank weapons, 5 x close air defence missiles, 2,000 x anti-tank missiles, 500 x shoulder launch aiming units, 200 x surface-to-air missiles, 200 x practice missiles, 88 x helicopter mounted missile launchers, 100 x air-to-air missiles, 110 lightweight multiple launchers, 500 x shoulder launch anti-armour missiles, 40 x vehicle missile launchers, 2,600 x close air defence missile, 220 air-to-ground anti-armour missiles, 20 x disarmed sectioned missiles, 75 x automatic/semi-automatic rifles, 25 x machine guns, 15 x grenade launchers 
			 BG 200 x Shoulder launcher rockets 
			 BG 136 x Rocket propelled grenades / 3 x launchers 
			 BG 1 x Machine gun / 1 x submachine gun 
			 BG 200 x Shoulder launcher rockets 
			 BG 500 x Shoulder launched rockets 
			 BG 500 x Shoulder launched rockets 
			 BG 10 x 5.56x45mm "Arsenal" assault rifles 
			 HR 1,500 x Machine guns, assault rifles and submachine guns 
			 HR 5,000 x Component parts for Section 5(1)(a) 
			 HR 500 x Rocket launchers / 3,000 mortars 
			 HR 10,000 x Various machine guns / 2,500 various submachine guns 
			 HR 40,000 x Assault rifles 
			 HR 100 x Anti-aircraft systems 
			 HR 100 x Rocket launchers 
			 HR 20,000 x AK47 assault rifles 
			 RO 2 x M16 A2 assault rifles / 4 x M16MA4 assault rifles /2 x Berettas / 1 x sniper rifle / 1 x Minimi machine gun 
			 RO 1 x Pump action shotgun / 2 x handguns 
			 RO 5 x Handguns / 1 x automatic rifle / 6 x bolt action single shot rifles 
			 RO 2 x H&K submachine guns / 5 x semi-automatic pistols / 1 x pump action shotgun 
			 RO 2 x MP5 submachine guns / 2 x UZI 9mm pistols /1 Beretta 9mm submachine gun 
			 RO 1 x Walther PPK 1 x Glock 17 pistol / 2 x Colt 1911 pistols / 2 x H&K MPSKs 
			 RO 25 x RPG-7 rocket launchers / 25 x RPG-7 rocket launchers (paratrooper) / 25 x SVD 7.62x54 rifles 
			 RO 30 x AKM rifles / 50 x Dragunov 7.62x54 rifles / 6 x PKM machine guns / 15 x RPG-7 rocket launchers /110 x RPG-7 rocket launchers Commander 5 / 1 x 60mm mortar / 1 x 81mm mortar / 1 x 120mm mortar 
			 SM 200 x Signal pistols / 50 machine guns 
			 SM 1 x Zastava M21 automatic rifle 
			 SM 600 Machine guns 
			 SM 1 x PKT machine gun / 2 x AKM assault rifles 
			 SM 5 x German MG42 light machine guns 7.92mm and 20 x spare barrels for same / 3 x German MG34 light machine guns 7.92mm and 20 x spare barrels for same 
			 SM 8 x Czech VZ27 7.65mm pistols / 9 x Belgian 1910/22 7.65mm pistols / 1 x German 7.65mm Mauser pistol / 1 x Polish Radom P-35 9mm pistol / 2 x German P-38 9mm pistols 
			 SM 50 x .50 CAL Browning M2HB / 200 x PPSH41 7.62 submachine guns / 100 x MG42 7.92 light machine guns / 20 x DP26 7.92 light machine guns 
			 UA 100 x Pistols / 580 x carbines 
			 UA 1,000 x Submachine guns 
			 UA 820 x Handguns / 400 x SVT 40 rifle 
			 UA 400 x 7.62mm SVT-40 rifles / 160 x 7.92mm Mausers K-98 / 84 x 7.92mm MG34 / 32 x 7.92mm MG42 / 400 x 11.43mm Thompson submachine guns 
			 UA 1,000 x 7.92mm Mauser K-98 / 500 x 7.62mm TT Pistol / 400 x 11.43mm Thompson submachine guns / 130 x 7.26mm Maxim machine gun 
			 UA 1,000 x 7.92mm MG34 / 1,000 x 9mm Walther P-38 / 1,000 x 11.43mm Thompson submachine guns 
			 XK 4 x laser emitting training weapons

Korea

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Department spent in each of the last five years building links between the UK and Korea with a focus on  (a) engineering,  (b) science and technology and  (c) innovation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The majority of the Department's expenditure on these subjects is allocated from the Science Budget to the UK Research Councils. In turn, the UK Research Councils allocate the majority of their funds in a "bottom-up" mode responding to the demand of the science community and making funding decisions on quality rather than international geographic focus. It is therefore not possible to provide exact figures on spending which relates to collaboration with Korea. However, there is active collaboration, supported by the Research Councils, in wide range of areas—including genome work, nano and bio-nanotechnology, sustainable development and energy technologies, ICT and mobile technologies and space science.
	The Office of Science and Innovation does have specific schemes to support links between UK and Korea in these areas which are administered by the Royal Society and which cost £400,000 over FYs 2001-02 to 2005-06.

Breast Feeding

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will discuss with  (a) the Department of Health and  (b) the Department for Work and Pensions the construction of fiscal incentives to promote breast feeding in the first six months of a baby's life.

Edward Balls: The Government recognises breastfeeding as the best form of nutrition for infants. Departments will continue to keep under review policies to promote healthy outcomes for infants.
	The new Healthy Start scheme, that replaces the Welfare Food Scheme, provides for the first time equal benefits for both breastfeeding and bottlefeeding mothers.
	Infant formula is the sole source of nutrition for those infants who are not breastfed and it is therefore vital that this product is available at an affordable price. The Government recognises that women have a choice in how they feed their infant and seeks to maximise nutritional outcomes for all infants.
	While the Government keeps all taxes under review, it is important to remember that there are other factors unrelated to price that will determine whether a mother chooses to breastfeed.

Cash Machines

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of Citizens' Advice's evidence to his Department on fee-charging cash machines.

Edward Balls: The Government take very seriously the issue of free access to cash, especially for those on low incomes. In July this year, the Citizens Advice Bureau published survey evidence on cash machine charging, titled "Out of Pocket". The working group on ATMs, chaired by John McFall, is looking at evidence from a range of stakeholders on the location and growth of free and surcharging ATMs, in order to reach a shared analysis on this issue. The Government look forward to seeing the recommendations of the ATM working group later in the year.

Cash Machines

Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will work with the banking industry to raise the proportion of cash machines not charging a fee.

Edward Balls: The Government take seriously the issue of free access to cash, especially for those on low-incomes. According to the latest figures from LINK, there are now more than 33,000 free ATMs in the UK, accounting for 96 per cent. of withdrawals made at ATMs. In the first quarter of 2006, there was a net increase of over 100 free ATMs.
	The working group on ATMs, chaired by John McFall, is expected to look at the evidence on the location and growth of free and surcharging ATMs, in order to reach a shared analysis on this issue. The Government look forward to seeing the recommendations of this group later in the year.

CHIEF Computer System

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the impact on private sector service providers of HM Revenue and Customs service helping importers and exporters to supply information to the CHIEF computer system.

John Healey: "The CHIEF system has been HM Revenue and Customs' primary system for processing customs declarations on imports and exports since 1994." HM Revenue and Customs provide a variety of electronic communications channels to enable importers and exporters to make customs declarations to the CHIEF service.
	HMRC have an extensive and ongoing consultation process with stakeholders including importers, exporters, software suppliers, community service providers, logistics operators and freight carriers to help understand the full impact of all potential changes relating to the provision of information to the CHIEF service. Where appropriate, full regulatory impact assessments are carried out on proposed changes to the system.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North of 3 August 2006, regarding a constituent, reference 5/01238/2006.

Edward Balls: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Energy Efficiency (Information & Support to Business)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of meetings held by the group examiningthe provision of information and support on energy efficiency to business chaired by the Financial Secretary and Mr. Richard Ellis.

John Healey: Budget 2006 announced that Richard Ellis and I would co-chair a group to examine how best to provide information and support to business on energy efficiency. The meetings of this group represent part of the ongoing process of policy development, the outcome of which will be reflected in any future policy announcements on this area. As such, it would not be appropriate to place copies of the minutes of these meetings in the Library.

Fuel Duties

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of fuel duty is per litre for  (a) petrol and  (b) diesel; and what the level would be if the fuel duty escalator had been retained.

John Healey: The current level of duty for ultra low sulphur petrol and diesel is 47.1p per litre.
	The fuel duty escalator was introduced in 1993 and removed in 1999.
	If the fuel duty escalator had been retained and (1) fuel duty had increased the escalator by 6 per cent. in real terms at every Budget and (2) there had been no reduction in fuel duty of 3p per litre in 2000 for the introduction of ultra low sulphur petrol and diesel, then fuel duty for ULSP and ULSD would currently be 83.91p per litre.
	Further information on current and historic duty rates for petrol and diesel can be found in table 4 of the HM Revenue and Customs 'Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin', which can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs website:
	http://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullhydro

Income Inequality

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what levels of income inequality were in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: There is no single measure or source of data on household income inequality.
	However, I refer the hon. Member to the DWP publication "Households Below Average Income" and the ONS publication "The Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income, 2004-05".

International Finance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether countries other than the UK and France have committed themselves to the IFF, as distinct from the IFFIm; what commitment to date extends only to a working group charged with considering feasibility; and on what dates that working group has met.

Edward Balls: France and the UK agreed at the Paris conference on innovative financing in March to jointly establish a working group to consider the implementation of an IFF going to health and education and funded by an air ticket levy as well as by other revenues from the Landau report. Discussions with the French and other countries have continued including on broader innovative financing mechanisms and on initiatives such as UNITAID and AMCs.

Land Use Planning

Paul Truswell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which representatives of  (a) business,  (b) community groups and  (c) non-government organisations the Barker Review Team (i) met and (ii) received representations from during the compilation of its interim report on land use planning.

Edward Balls: The full list of representatives can be found on page 181 in annex A of the Barker Review of Land Use Planning interim report. This can be found on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent reviews/barker_review_land_use_planning/barkerreview_land_use_planning_index.cfm

Parliamentary Questions

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead regarding the tax credits of his constituent Mr. Delaney.

Dawn Primarolo: The hon. Gentleman wrote to me on 22 June 2005 and HM Revenue and Customs responded on my behalf on 18 August 2005.
	There has been no further correspondence between myself and the hon. Gentleman regarding his constituent.

Standard Life

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) his Department and  (b) the Financial Services Authority undertook monitoring of the recent demutualisation ballot conducted by Standard Life.

Edward Balls: The process of demutualisation in any organisation will be based on their specific rules, articles of memorandum as well as the legislative framework under which they operate.
	These requirements will be binding on all members who will normally have the opportunity to vote on the proposals.
	The Standard Life demutualisation ballot was conducted in accordance with their existing regulations and guidance on voting was given in the Proposal for members and policyholders.
	The Treasury is not responsible for or involved in the conduct of such votes however the FSA in its role as regulator reviewed the Proposal for regulatory compliance. The fairness of the Proposal was checked by an independent expert appointed to report to the court.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken to ensure that UK troops in Helmand Province are fully equipped for operating effectively in the winter.

Des Browne: holding answer 11 September 2006
	As I announced to the House on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1133WS, three Commando Brigade Royal Marines will replace 16 Air Assault Brigade as the Helmand taskforce this winter. The Brigade is the UK's only specialist mountain and cold weather brigade. It is fully trained and equipped for this role and has considerable personal and collective experience of winter and mountain operations.
	In addition to the normal temperate and desert issue equipment, brigade personnel have been issued with a winter supplement, based on those specialist items that would normally be used during winter training in Norway. The key items are cold weather boots and socks, inner and outer winter gloves and a winter sleeping bag. Should the nature of the operations require additional specialist winter equipment in order to support particular operational requirements, these can be drawn on by the in-theatre HQ.

Correspondence

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will reply to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed's letters of 1 December 2005 and 28 February 2006 concerning replacement documents for a constituent's late husband's war service (MoD Ref: 05651/2005).

Des Browne: holding answer 11 September 2006
	My hon. Friend, the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson), wrote to the right hon. Member on 24 August. This regrettable delay was because it took much longer than expected to trace the necessary documents.

Departmental Expenditure

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the annual expenditure on vehicles for  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005-06.

Derek Twigg: Expenditure on the purchase or hire of vehicles for the movement of personnel and freight for administrative purposes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   England, Scotland and Wales  Northern Ireland  Total 
			 2003-04 85.4 4.2 89.6 
			 2004-05 85.2 5.5 90.7 
			 2005-06 89.2 4.2 93.4 
		
	
	These figures reflect activity by the Defence Logistics Organisation, who account for the majority of MOD vehicle expenditure, and Headquarters Northern Ireland- Some other expenditure is incurred locally, but could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Most vehicles are operated under lease or short-term hire arrangements.
	For details of expenditure on ministerial vehicles provided to the MOD by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, I refer the hon. Member to the letter of 20 December 2005 from the chief executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker). Copies of the letter are available in the Library.
	Data for 2002-03 and a further breakdown by agency or public body and region is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Infantry Soldiers

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of infantry soldiers come from  (a) Muslim and  (b) ethnic minority backgrounds.

Derek Twigg: As at 1 June 2006, the percentage of UK Regular Army Infantry Soldiers that have recorded Muslim as their religion is 0.2 per cent.
	As at 1 April 2006, the percentage of UK Regular Army Infantry Soldiers that come from an ethnic minority background is 8.5 per cent.
	UK Regular Army excludes Full Time Reserve Service Personnel, Gurkhas, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment andmobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's policy is on UK troops remaining in Iraq after all provinces controlled by the UK are handed over to the Iraqi Government; what information has been issued to the media on the UK's plans; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 11 September 2006
	As we have consistently made clear, Coalition troops will remain in Iraq until the conditions for drawdown are right. The transfer of provincial security responsibility to the Iraqi Security Forces—while an important step—will not necessarily result in the complete withdrawal of UK troops. Coalition troops will need to remain in Iraq for some period after provincial transfer to continue training and mentoring of the Iraqi Security Forces, and to assist with the provision of security until we, the Iraqi Government, and our coalition partners are confident that the Iraqi Security Forces can operate without our support.
	MOD regularly provides the media with briefing about the Department's role in Iraq.

Peacekeeping (UN and NATO)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of  (a) UN peacekeeping troops and  (b) NATO operationally deployed troops come from the British armed forces.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 July 2006
	The UN publishes details of troop contributions to UN missions on its website at www.un.org/depts/dpko/dpko/contributors I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.
	On 10 August 2006 the deployment of UK service personnel on NATO operations was:
	
		
			  Country  All services 
			 ISAF (Afghanistan) 4,360 
			 Balkans 180 
			 Iraq 20 
			  Notes:  1. Data are rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent disclosure of sensitive information.  2. Figures include mobilised reservists.  3. ISAF (International Security Assistance Force).  4. Figures for the total NATO strength are not held centrally and it is therefore not possible to show these figures as a proportion of the total force. 
		
	
	Information on the deployment of the British armed forces can also be found in the MOD annual report and accounts 2005-06, copies of which are held in the House of Commons Library.

UN Missions

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops have been involved in UN missions in each year since 1995.

Adam Ingram: The UN publishes details of troop contributions to UN missions on its website at www.un.org/depts/dpko/dpko/contributors I am placing a copy in the Library of the House. Data prior to 2000 is not currently available on the website. Nor is it held centrally by the Ministry of Defence, and it could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005.

Peter Hain: Under the machinery of Government change, in June 2003 the Wales Office became a separate entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA); and IT equipment is provided through the DCA contract in line with the government private finance initiative. Through this contract we have been supplied with four laptop computers since March 2005, three of which were supplied in November 2005 and one in August 2006. The Wales Office has purchased one memory stick in July 2006, and all other equipment is covered by the DCA IT contract.

Building Regulations

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment she has  (a) made and  (b) evaluated of the proportion of homes constructed in the last 10 years which did not comply with building regulations in respect of their thermal efficiency; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the potential for improved training, monitoring and enforcement within the construction industry to raise levels of compliance with Part L of the building regulations; and if she will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned surveys of the implementation of the energy efficiency amendments that came into effect in 1995 and 2002. The results of tests carried out on 154 dwellings built to the 2002 standards were taken into account in developing the amendment that came into effect in April 2006.
	In line with the commitment made in the 2003 Energy White Paper to find ways of improving compliance the Department began in July 2005 the largest programme of dissemination and training ever undertaken This work will continue with further initiatives to improve knowledge and understanding and engagement with building control bodies and other stakeholders on how best to measure impact.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford transferred to her Department by the Department for Work and Pensions on 19 July regarding his constituents Mr. Forrester, Mrs. Dixty and Mr. Seal.

Yvette Cooper: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 3 August 2006.

English Partnerships

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what English Partnerships' planned programme expenditure is in  (a) the North East,  (b) the North West,  (c) Yorkshire and Humberside,  (d) the East Midlands,  (e) the West Midlands,  (f) the East of England,  (g) London,  (h) the South East and (i) the South West in 2006-07.

Yvette Cooper: English Partnership's gross expenditure by Government office region for 2006-07 is estimated as set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2006-07 
			   Budget (£ million)  Percentage 
			 East Midlands 47 8 
			 East of England 37 6 
			 London 53 9 
			 North East 34 6 
			 North West 85 15 
			 South East 107 19 
			 South West 36 6 
			 West Midlands 22 4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 36 6 
			 National 116 20 
			 EP Total 573 100 
			  Note:The "national" line shows EP's expenditure on the two national programmes involving former hospital sites and the first time buyers initiative. The precise spread of investment is yet to be finalised and therefore cannot be included in the regional figures.

English Partnerships

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what her plans are for the percentage of the programme expenditure of English Partnerships to be spent in the South of England over the next five years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what English Partnerships' planned programme of expenditure is in  (a) the north and  (b) the south of England in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08 and (iii) 2008-09.

Yvette Cooper: English Partnerships (EP) is a national agency in England and the operational distribution of its programme expenditure is decided by its board according to national delivery priorities in their annual corporate plan as approved by Ministers. EP's future national programme and priorities are currently under consideration as part of their current corporate planning round for the financial years 2006-07 to 2010-11. Funding for EP's programmes for 2008-09 to 2010-11 will be decided after the Spending Review 2007 settlement.
	EP's gross expenditure for 2006-07 including the spread of expenditure across the North and the South of England is estimated as set out in the following table.
	
		
			   2006-07 
			   Budget (£ million)  Percentage 
			 North including Midlands 224 39 
			 South 233 41 
			 Other National 116 20 
			 EP Total 573 100 
			  Notes:1. For the purposes of this answer the South of England includes South East, East, South West of England and London, with other regions taken to mean the North of England.2. The "national" line shows EP's expenditure on the two national programmes involving former hospital sites and the first time buyers initiative. The precise spread of investment is not yet finalised and therefore cannot be included in the regional figures.

Local Government Finance

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing a system of business rates linked to profitability; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Any reforms to business rates fall with the remit of Sir Michael Lyons independent inquiry into the role and funding of local government. The Government will not take any decisions on changes to local government finance until it has had the chance to consider and reflect on Sir Michael's report and recommendations.

Ordnance Survey

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the Office of Public Sector Information concerning Ordnance Survey.

Angela Smith: As a Trading Fund, Ordnance Survey is accredited to the Information Fair Trader Scheme (IFTS) managed by the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) OPSI has published two reports concerning Ordnance Survey in the past six months—one confirming Ordnance Survey's accreditation to the IFTS and one reporting on an investigation into a specific complaint against Ordnance Survey.
	OPSI and Ordnance Survey officials are in regular dialogue in respect of a wide range of issues relating to Ordnance Survey's delegated authority to administer Crown copyright is respect of mapping and geographic information. These meetings have covered matters arising from the two recent reports. Ordnance Survey continues to take steps to widen the use of its maps and data in both public and private sectors.

Sustainable Communities (Northamptonshire)

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what conclusions have been reached by the Department's Growth Areas Directorate following its recent discussions with Northamptonshire county council and other local agencies on the infrastructure investment required in Northamptonshire up to 2021 to deliver the Department's sustainable communities plan.

Yvette Cooper: As part of its evidence gathering and analysis phase, officials from the Supporting Housing Growth Review team, along with officials from DCLG and other key infrastructure departments, have conducted a series of case study workshops with officials from local authorities across the country. The visit to North Northamptonshire held on 25 July was one of those visits. The review will report to Treasury Ministers as part of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Angola

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what  (a) level of UK public investment and  (b) plans for support his Department has in respect of the future reconstruction of Angola.

Hilary Benn: DFID has a modest bilateral aid programme in Angola, presently at £5 million for 2006-07. The UK also provides other sources of bilateral funding, including demining (at around £750,000 per year), the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (at just over £1 million in 2006-07), the British Embassy's Post Bilateral Fund (£110,000 per year), and the Global Opportunities Fund for Climate Change and Energy (representing around £100,000 in 2006-07). In addition, the UK supports multilateral organisations, including the World Bank's Angola Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (US$25 million over five years), the European Commission's European Development Fund, which allocated €146 million to Angola for 2002-07 (of which the UK's share was around 17.5 per cent.), and UNICEF's £18 million programme Southern Africa programme (which includes Angola) to which DFID contributes £3.5 million.
	After 41 years of conflict, Angola has immense reconstruction challenges. In 2005, Angola ranked 160 out of 175 of the UNDP Human Development Index, with under five, infant mortality and maternal mortality the second highest in the world. With the global rise in oil prices, the Government of Angola has substantially increased revenue to help it tackle these challenges. DFID's priorities in Angola are to support the consolidation of peace, greater civic engagement in state policy and practice, the transparent use of Government resources in a way that prioritises poverty reduction, and assistance for social sectors where Angola is off-track on the Millennium Development Goals.

Ethiopia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has made available to those affected by the flood in Ethiopia; and if he will make statement.

Hilary Benn: DFID has provided an additional£1 million to the Humanitarian Response Fund for Ethiopia, in response to needs which have arisen as a result of the widespread flooding in South Omo, Dire Dawa and other lowland areas of Ethiopia. The Fund is managed by the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, with support from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). This is a rapid and flexible source of funds which will respond to needs as they arise and in the event of further flooding.
	This contribution was made ahead of the international emergency appeal launched by the UN OCHA and the Government of Ethiopia on 25 August. DFID will continue to monitor the situation and will consider responding to any further appeal.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of accounting procedures for aid provided to Iraq from  (a) non-Iraqi sources and  (b) Iraq's own resources; what the latest estimate is of the amount of (i) missing money, (ii) misused money and (iii) money which has not been used for its intended purpose; what assessment he has made of whether pledged assistance has delivered the intended outcomes; what assessment he has made of the extent of corruption with regard to aid, including by non-Iraqi sources; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The aid that donors provide to Iraq is subject to standard accounting procedures and rigorous auditing. All of DFID's funds are subject to rigorous internal controls. The National Audit Office audits DFID's accounts on an annual basis. Our 2005-06 audited resource accounts are available at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/resource-accounts.asp.
	As to the latest estimates of missing or misused donor funds, the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction produces a quarterly report for Congress. Their report in January 2006 found that$8.8 billion under management by the Coalition Provisional Authority between May 2003 and June 2004 had less than adequate financial controls. This audit did not assert that this money could not be accounted for, but rather concluded that financial controls did not meet required standards. Further reports are available at www.sigir.mil. There are regular audits of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) run by the UN and World Bank (further details available at www.irffi.org).
	Regarding estimates of UK aid missing or misused in Iraq, as set out in our 2005-06 resource accounts, DFID has evidence that £254,000 was misused by recipients. In addition, primarily due to the poor security situation, we have been unable to account properly for a further £296,000. This is out of a total of £356 million disbursed by DFID in Iraq since 2003.
	Despite difficult security, donor assistance to Iraq has delivered tangible outcomes. For example, DFID has improved electricity transmission lines in southern Iraq which has secured power supplies for more than 1.5 million people. We have also helped to improve water supplies. And have provided strategic economic advice to the Ministry of Finance which helped Iraq secure an IMF Standby Arrangement in December 2005.
	Regarding Iraqi sources of aid, the Government of Iraq's accounting system is old and does not accurately reflect public expenditure. Budget outturns for 2005, for example, are estimates and not full audited accounts. A new computerised system should be in place in 2007.
	There are currently no reliable estimates of how much of Iraq's public money is misused or missing. There is smuggling, theft, and corruption in many sectors, especially oil. The UK, alongside the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other donors, continue to work with the Iraqi Government as it seeks to improve accountability and transparency in Iraq's public finances.

Lebanon

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Conference for Lebanon's Early Recovery held in Stockholm on 31 August 2006; what the timeframe is for the allocation of pledged money; how it is to be spent; and what other assistance will be provided.

Hilary Benn: The Stockholm conference hoped to generate a target figure of $540 million (£284 million) in pledges from the international donor community in support of the Government of Lebanon's Early Recovery Plan. The final figure pledged was $930 million (£489 million). DFID's total funding commitment to Lebanon to date, including multilateral contributions, is £22.3 million. The UK is the fifth largest bilateral contributor to the humanitarian effort in Lebanon, and we stand ready to do more as needed.
	There are four priorities for the distribution of UK funds;
	providing assistance for displaced people along routes of return;
	securing sustained access for humanitarian convoys;
	reducing the risk to those returning and aid workers from unexploded munitions;
	repairing basic infrastructure such as water pumps and ensuring enough fuel reaches communities to run such essential infrastructure.
	We urge those donors that have pledged funds to ensure that the full benefits of their commitment reach those most in need as soon as possible.

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons were for the time taken to transfer a letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford concerning his constituents, Mr. Forrester, Mrs. Dixty and Mr. Seal to the Department for Communities and Local Government; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The correspondence that the hon. Member refers to raised a number of complex policy issues and officials in this Department had a number of discussions with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government on how best to respond to the hon. Member. After seeking ministerial advice it was decided that the Department for Communities and Local Government would respond.
	I apologise for the delay in arranging the transfer of the hon. Member's letter to the Department for Communities and Local Government and acknowledge that the service provided in this case did not meet the standard that this Department aspires to and which hon. Members require. The Department is reviewing its procedures on transfers of correspondence to ensure that similar delays are avoided in future.

Disability Living Allowance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations his Department has received from groups and individuals in support of an increase in disability living allowance; and what plans his Department has to increase disability living allowance.

Anne McGuire: Over the last six months, the Department has received no representations from groups in support of an increase of the rates at which disability living allowance is paid, but we have received such representations from 12 individuals. These include the letter the hon. Member sent on behalf of his constituent to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 13 July, and to which I replied on 20 July. In my letter, I advised that disability living allowance is increased every April by the rate of inflation as measured by the movement in the retail prices index. We have no plans to change these arrangements which have seen expenditure on the benefit increase by about 45 per cent. in real terms (at 2006-07 prices) from £6.1 billion in 1997-98 to an estimated £8.8 billion in 2005-06.

Health and Safety Executive

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action is taken by the Health and Safety Executive to supplement its own regular inspection of major hazard sites  (a) by unannounced check inspections and  (b) by separate inspections by outside verification agencies.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The majority of inspections to major hazard sites are pre-arranged, primarily to ensure that the appropriate technical staff are available to evaluate the effectiveness of the health and safety management systems including the technical measures in place for preventing and controlling major accident hazards. Unannounced visits are occasionally made where the spontaneity of such an approach is a key element of the purpose of the visit.
	There are a range of requirements for independent verification in the various major hazard regulatory regimes. HSE inspectors take account of the findings of such verification inspections in their overall assessment/inspection process.

NI Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations relating to the issue of national insurance numbers contained in Lord Grabiner's 2000 report on the informal economy; and what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office in relation to implementing those recommendations.

James Plaskitt: Lord Grabiner' recommendation was that the national insurance number (NINO) allocation approach performed by the Balham office in south west London be extended nationally. DWP has implemented this recommendation, Following the successful pilot at Balham office, new procedures for NINO allocation were introduced nationally at the end of March 2001. Specialist teams now carry out thorough and detailed interviews with applicants. Interviewing sites have access to sophisticated document examination tools. A secondary level of checks has been introduced in order to fully corroborate information provided by the applicant at the initial interview.
	The Home Office was involved in the development of these new procedures. Furthermore, following Lord Grabiner's investigation into the informal economy, a steering group was set up in May 2000 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations contained in Lord Grabiner's report.

Overpayment Income Support

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will investigate the alleged overpayment of income support to a constituent of the hon. Member for St. Albans Mr. Jules Vialva.

James Plaskitt: I will write separately to the hon. Member concerning her constituent.

Parliamentary Questions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question 79985, on benefits expenditure, tabled on 20 June 2006 by the hon. Member for Birkenhead.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 14 July 2006
	I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given on 25 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1567-68W.

Prisoners

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the total amount of  (a) Social Fund payments,  (b) winter fuel payments,  (c) attendance allowance,  (d) disability living allowance,  (e) carer's allowance,  (f) retirement pension,  (g) bereavement benefits,  (h) maternity allowance,  (i) reduced earnings allowance,  (j) retirement allowance,  (k) income support,  (l) jobseeker's allowance,  (m) pension credit and  (n) statutory sick pay erroneously paid to prisoners due to (i) fraud, (ii) customer error and (iii) official error in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available for benefits other than income support, jobseeker's allowance, and pension credit. For the available information on these three benefits I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 24 July 2006,  Official Report, column 872W.

Return to Work

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what research he has conducted into the impact that reasonable travel and lunch reimbursements have on supporting individuals re-entry into the labour market in a paid or voluntary capacity; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether reasonable lunch and travel reimbursements will continue to be excluded from counting as earnings or income for people performing voluntary work; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the cost to benefit claimants who are volunteering of  (a) lunching at home and  (b) buying lunch at or near a work place; what assumptions are made of the cost of lunches in benefit calculations; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the availability of claimants to volunteer of the decision to treat expenses paid for lunches as income for benefit purposes.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The Department for Work and Pensions has not carried out or commissioned specific research into the impact of reimbursing expenses to volunteers.
	The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken any specific cost comparison of the cost of lunching at home, the work place or elsewhere; there are no plans to do so. However, we have received a number of representations from voluntary or charitable groups who have produced some evidence to suggest that many people on benefits may be discouraged from undertaking voluntary activity, or stop volunteering, had they not been able to claim the consequent additional costs of meals as an expense.
	Volunteering plays an important role in helping people move off benefits and back into work. It gives people confidence, the chance to develop skills and to gain invaluable experience after a period out of work.
	We do not want to create a situation whereby individuals are put off volunteering or are penalised from helping themselves and others because they cannot afford to buy something to eat.
	We have therefore simplified the rules. Meals can now be treated as a reasonable expense which volunteers can claim back so that they are no longer expected to meet the cost of their lunch from their benefit.

State Pension

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Pensions Service accuracy rate has been for dealing with state retirement pension in the last five years; and what the related costs of official error have been.

James Purnell: Information that is available is in the following tables. Figures are only available since the Pension Service came into existence in April 2002.
	 State pension accuracy
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Accuracy rate achieved  Standard 
			 2002-03 97 98 
			 2003-04 98.6 98 
			 2004-05 97.6 98 
		
	
	2005-06 year to date summary is 96.97 per cent. against standard of 98 per cent.
	 Estimates of state pension overpayments through official error
	In each year the amount overpaid as a result of official error represents around 0.1 per cent. or less as a proportion of state pension expenditure.
	
		
			   Estimated official error overpayment amount (£ million) 
			 2002-03 10 
			 2003-04 20 
			 2004-05 30 
			 2005-06 30

Volunteers

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he will alter the guidance in his Department's booklet, "A guide to volunteering while on benefits" to allow volunteers in receipt of income support or jobseeker's allowance to claim lunch expenses as a legitimate expense.

James Plaskitt: Volunteering plays an important role in helping people move off benefits and back into work. It gives people confidence, the chance to develop skills and to gain invaluable experience after a period out of work.
	We do not want to create a situation whereby individuals are put off volunteering or are penalised from helping themselves and others because they cannot afford to buy something to eat.
	We have therefore simplified the rules. Meals can now be treated as a reasonable expense which volunteers can claim back so that they are no longer expected to meet the cost of their lunch from their benefit.
	The guidance contained in the Volunteers Handbook will be reviewed to reflect the simplified rules.

Volunteers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used in assessing reimbursement for lunch and other meals to volunteers as earnings rather than legitimate expenses; and what impact he expects this to have on those in receipt of benefits who choose to take up voluntary work.

James Plaskitt: Volunteering plays an important role in helping people move off benefits and back into work. It gives people confidence, the chance to develop skills and to gain invaluable experience after a period out of work.
	We do not want to create a situation whereby individuals are put off volunteering or are penalised from helping themselves and others because they cannot afford to buy something to eat.
	We have therefore simplified the rules. Meals can now be treated as a reasonable expense which volunteers can claim back so that they are no longer expected to meet the cost of their lunch from their benefit.

Volunteers

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what consultation was undertaken by his Department in advance of the change in guidance from his Department regarding lunch expenses for those on benefits who work as volunteers; and with whom such consultation took place;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the likely impact of new guidance from his Department regarding lunch expenses for those on benefits who work as volunteers on the number of those on benefits who volunteer;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of people on benefits who do voluntary work.

James Plaskitt: Volunteering plays an important role in helping people move off benefits and back into work. It gives people confidence, the chance to develop skills and to gain invaluable experience after a period out of work.
	We do not want to create a situation whereby individuals are put off volunteering or are penalised from helping themselves and others because they cannot afford to buy something to eat.
	We have therefore simplified the rules. Meals can now be treated as a reasonable expense which volunteers can claim back so that they are no longer expected to meet the cost of their lunch from their benefit. We have been working closely with volunteering organisations to implement the simplification quickly and smoothly.
	The number of benefit recipients who choose to volunteer is not known as we do not collect this information.

Football

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what contribution her Department has made to the implementation of proposals contained in the  (a) Burns Report and  (b) European Sport Review which relate to the regulation of football in England; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I have held regular discussions with the FA and other football authorities since Lord Burns' report was published in August 2005. I continue to urge the FA to implement the recommendations contained in Lord Burns' report as quickly as possible to ensure they are a national governing body which is fit for purpose.
	The Independent European Sport Review was published on 23 May with recommendations falling to member states, EU institutions, domestic Football Associations and UEFA to consider. The UK Government are currently considering their recommendations, in consultation with key stakeholders, and aims to respond to the Review's authors at the end of September.

London Olympics Building Programme

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of whether EU workers will be needed to fill skills gaps in the building of the London Olympics site.

Richard Caborn: None. The Government believe that the London 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games present a huge employment opportunity for local communities in east London which suffer from low basic skills levels and high unemployment. The London Employment and Skills Task Force is developing an action plan which will help to effect a permanent reduction in the level of worklessness in London and the Lower Lea Valley, including proposals such as:
	Establishing the Olympic site as a National Skills Academy site;
	Doubling the current rate of apprentices to workers;
	The incorporation of all ODA and LOCOG contractors' vacancies into Jobcentre Plus processes; and
	Ensuring that 15 per cent. of 50,000 person-years of jobs are filled by residents of the five east London host boroughs.
	This and other programmes of work by Olympic partners is designed to ensure that local people are equipped with the skills needed to enable them to benefit from the whole range of Games-related opportunities.

Sports Clubs

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number and percentage of five to 16-year-olds who were members of, or participated in, national governing body accredited sports clubs in each year since 2002.

Richard Caborn: Data collected by Sport England in 2005-06 shows that there were 1,082,419 five to 16-year-olds participating in the accredited clubs of the 22 National Governing Bodies clubs who contribute to the Club Links Workstrand of the National School Sport Strategy. Data is not available in the requested format for years preceding this.

Violent Computer Games

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the outcome was ofher Department's 2005 review of the possible link between playing violent computer games and real life violence.

Shaun Woodward: A copy of the report was published on the Department's website in February 2006. The researchers found that there was no conclusive evidence of a link between playing computer games that featured violence and violent behaviour in real life.

Children and Young People's Plan

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which local authorities did not publish a Children and Young People's Plan by 1 April.

Phil Hope: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect data on precisely when local authorities published their Children and Young People's Plan. Officials at the Department ran a compliance check during July and can now confirm that all local authorities, that are required to do so, have published a plan.

Enterprise Summer School Pathfinders

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will place in the Library a copy of the standard curriculum for the enterprise summer school pathfinders; how many such schools were held in summer 2006; for how many days each school was held; between what hours of the day each school was held; what criteria are being assessed to measure the effectiveness of such schools; and pursuant to her Answer to Question 88096, which of the businesses listed in the Answer subsequently confirmed their interest in participating in the schools.

Phil Hope: As yet, there is no standard curriculum for the Enterprise Summer School pathfinders. The evaluation that is being conducted by Oxford University assessed 23 approaches to five different models. The initial report is due in October and the final report in December. Together these will make recommendations on standard content based on the findings from the pathfinders.
	23 pathfinder Enterprise Summer Schools were run in 2006, with at least one in each UK region. The duration was between five and 10 days depending on which model was being run. For non-residential models, normal school hours were maintained. For residential models, evening activities were also included.
	Many more businesses took part than known in the previous answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Schools and 14-19 Learners. The full list of participating businesses has been placed in the Libraries.

Funding

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding  (a) in total and  (b) per pupil has been allocated to Warrington Education Authority in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The following table sets out the total funding received by Warrington local education authority for its pupils for the years 1997-98 to 2005-06:
	
		
			  Warrington local education authority 
			   Total funding (£ million)  Funding per pupil (£) 
			 1997-98 83.7 2,660 
			 1998-99 88.1 2,710 
			 1999-00 91.4 2,810 
			 2000-01 100.2 3,020 
			 2001-02 105.2 3,150 
			 2002-03 108.0 3,240 
			 2003-04 112.1 3,340 
			 2004-05 114.9 3,460 
			 2005-06 120.0 3,650 
			 Change(1) 36.4 980 
			 (1 )Change since 1997-98.   Notes:  1. Price Base: real terms at 2004-05 prices, based on GDP deflators as at 23.12.05.  2. Figures reflect relevant sub-blocks of standard spending assessment/education formula spending (EFS) settlements and exclude the pensions transfer to EFS and LSC.  3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged 3-19 and exclude education maintenance allowance (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.  4. The pupil numbers used to convert £m to £ per pupil are those underlying the SSA/EFS settlement calculations plus PLASC 3-year-old maintained pupils and estimated 3 to 4-year-olds funded through state supporting maintained and other educational institutions where these are not included in the SSA pupil numbers.  5. Rounding: total funding is rounded to the nearest £0.1 million. Per pupil figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Figures may not total due to rounding.  6. Status: 2003-04 to 2005-06 figures are provisional as some grants have not yet been finalised/audited.7. 1997-98 figures for authorities subject to local government re-organisation in that year (such as Warrington) have been estimated, pro-rata to their post LGR figures. 
		
	
	The following figures are taken from the new dedicated schools grant. They are not comparable with those for the earlier years:
	
		
			   Total DSG (£ million)  Guaranteed unit of funding (£) 
			 2005-06 Baseline 100.108 3,205.76 
			 2006-07 DSG 105.260 3,414.00 
			  Notes:  1. The figures from 1997-98 to 2005-06 are based on education formula spending (EPS) which formed the education part of the local government finance settlement, plus various grants. This was an assessment of what local authorities needed to fund education rather than what they spent. In 2006-07 funding for schools changed with the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) which is based largely on an authority's previous spending.  2. The DSG has a different coverage to EFS. EFS comprised a schools block and an LEA block (to cover LEA central functions) whereas DSG only covers the schools block. LEA block items are still funded through DCLG's local government finance settlement but education items cannot be separately identified. This means there is a break from 2006-07 onwards in the funding series and the two sets of figures are not comparable. A new funding series is currently being developed by the Department.  3. There are other grants that support the schools budget. These are not included in the provided DSG figures as some of these grant figures are not yet available.  4. Figures are in cash terms and include the pensions transfer.

Further Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what proportion of the total budget for further education was spent on adult students with learning disabilities in each  (a) institution and  (b) region in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how much funding was provided for further education for adult students with learning disabilities in each  (a) institution and  (b) region in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council allocates specific budgets to institutions or regions for adult learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, therefore we do not hold the detail of institutional funding. Funding for provision for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities has increased significantly over recent years, and in 2004/05 the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) supported more than 641,000 learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities which accounted for nearly £1.5 billion.
	Continuing investment in this provision remains a priority, which was confirmed in our 2006-07 Grant Letter to the LSC, and the LSC has in turn made clear in their strategic planning guidance the priority it attaches to this provision. Information on individual institutions can be found at the institution's website and performance information on Ofsted's website (www.ofsted.gov.uk)

Law Students

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what publicly-funded assistance is available to mature students to study law and subsequently train as lawyers.

Phil Hope: Mature students are generally able to receive support to study law degrees on the same basis as younger students and on the same basis as for other degree courses. For full-time students, new rates of student support in 2006/07 offer above inflation increases in the amount of maintenance loan available to students (up to £6,170 in London). These maintenance loans are available to students under the age of 60. New fee loans of up to £3,000 ensure that no eligible student pays upfront fees. Student loans for maintenance and tuition fees incur no real rate of interest, are repaid only when graduate earnings are £15,000 or more and are written off after 25 years.
	A means tested HE maintenance grant of up to £2,700 has been introduced for new students, who will also receive institutional bursaries of at least £300 if they pay fees of £3,000 at a publicly-funded institution. Students with dependants can claim additional grants including adult dependants grant (worth up to £2,455), parents learning allowance (worth up to £1,400) and a child care grant (worth up to £8,840). In addition, student parents are eligible to receive child tax credit from the Inland Revenue. Some students are also eligible for university access to learning funds and disabled students allowances. Mature law students who do not qualify for undergraduate support may be eligible for a career development loan which has an element of subsidy from public funds.
	Part-time mature students receive the same support as other part-time students. In 2006/07 a fee grant of up to £1,125 is available, depending how intensive the course is, together with a course grant of up to £250.
	Mature students can apply for the training contract grant scheme (TCGS) which is administered by the Legal Services Commission. The TCGS provides financial support to law students wishing to work in the legal aid sector.
	The information given is in relation to England.

Post-graduate Debt

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken to reduce the level of post-graduate debt.

Bill Rammell: Higher education is the best investment most people will make, with a substantial graduate premium compared to what a similar individual would have earned if they just had A-levels. There is now more money available to students from the student finance system and, where this is in the form of student loans, the debt incurred is quite unlike commercial debt. Students repay student loans after they have left university or college and only in real terms the same amount that they originally borrowed. Graduates do not pay back until they are in work and earning more than £15,000. Someone on the average graduate starting salary of £18,000 could be paying only £5.19 per week. If at any time their income drops below £15,000 the repayments will stop until they are earning more again. We have also provided that, if after 25 years students starting in 2006/07 or later have still not paid back all their student loan, the Government will pay it off for them.
	There are also new grants which should benefit up to half of new entrants to full time courses. From 2006/07 lower income students are eligible for maintenance grants of up to £2,700 and minimum university bursaries of £300, typically £1,000, which gives them the option to reduce potential loan debt substantially.

School Meals

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what the average  (a) fat and  (b) saturated fat content is of manufactured potato chips (i) deep fried and (ii) baked in ovens as their final cooking method in schools;
	(2)  whether manufactured chips which are  (a) deep-fried and  (b) baked in ovens as their final cooking method are classified in the same way under the new food-based standard for school meals in terms of the frequency with which they are allowed to be served;
	(3)  when he has met the School Food Trust to discuss the classification of deep-fried products; and what advice and recommendations he has received from the Trust on this subject.

Phil Hope: The following data on the fat and saturated fat content of fried and oven baked chips is taken from the UK food composition tables McCance and Widdowson's "The Composition of Foods, sixth edition (2002)".
	
		
			   Fat g/100g  Saturated Fat g/100g 
			 Oven chips, frozen, baked 4.2 1.8 
			 Chips straight cut, frozen fried in blended oil 13.5 1.2 
		
	
	These figures are averages based on analysis of samples cooked according to normal domestic practice. They are not based on chips cooked in schools.
	The regulations that set new school lunch standards place restrictions on the frequency that foods, which are deep-fried in the cooking or manufacturing process can be served in schools. This means deep-fried chips and chips that are 'flash-fried' during the manufacturing process and baked in ovens as their final cooking method would be restricted by the regulations.
	The Secretary of State for Education and Skills has not met with the School Food Trust (SFT); however the Minister responsible for School Food has quarterly meetings with the SFT. The meetings are an opportunity to discuss progress made against targets and policy issues, including school food standards. Deep-frying issues have been discussed in general terms although no specific advice or recommendations have been received.

Schoolchildren (Bristol)

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children of school age living in Bristol local education authority area attend  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools which are located outside the local education authority boundaries; and what percentage of these schools are in the independent sector.

Phil Hope: We are unable to provide residency based figures for children educated in the Independent sector as the Department does not collect individual level information for pupils in the Independent sector.
	The information for primary and secondary schools in the maintained sector has been provided in the following table:
	
		
			   align="left" valign="bottom" Number of pupils( 3)  residing within Bristol local authority  Number of pupils( 3)  residing within Bristol local authority who attend schools outside of the local authority  Percentage of pupils( 3)  residing within Bristol local authority who attend schools outside of the local authority 
			 Primary(1) 29,807 1,208 4.1 
			 Secondary(2) 20,162 4,272 21.2 
			 Total 49,969 5,480 11.0 
			 (1) Includes primary and middle deemed primary.  (2) Includes secondary, middle deemed secondary, City Technology Colleges and Academies.  3 Includes pupils aged 5 to 15 years, solely registered or main registration of dually registered pupils, excludes boarders.   Source:  School Census 2006

Schoolchildren (Expenditure)

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent in real terms on each school child in  (a) England,  (b) Waltham Forest and  (c) Redbridge in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 1995-96.

Phil Hope: The available information is contained in the following tables. The Department is currently collecting the financial information for 2005-06.
	
		
			  Expenditure per pupil on education in Waltham Forest, Redbridge and England in financial year 2004-05—Real terms figures at 2005-06 prices( 1)  as reported by local authorities in their 2004-05 outturn statements as at 6 September 2006( 2) 
			  £ 
			   2004-05 at 2005-06 prices 
			   Primary school based expenditure per pupil( 3)  Secondary school based expenditure per pupil( 3)  Combined local authority and school based expenditure per pupil( 5) 
			 Waltham Forest 3,460 4,500 4,560 
			 Redbridge 2,890 4,050 4,290 
			 England 2,980 3,880 4,230 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   1995-96 at 2005-06 prices 
			   Pre-primary/ Primary school based expenditure per pupil( 3,4)  Secondary school based expenditure per pupil( 3)  Combined local authority and school based expenditure per pupil( 5) 
			 Waltham Forest 2,550 3,380 4,020 
			 Redbridge 2,290 3,290 3,730 
			 England 2,180 2,960 3,420 
			 (1) Real terms figures calculated using GDP deflators as at 30 June 2006.  (2) 2004-05 data are subject to change by the local authority. All figures are rounded to the nearest £10.  (3) School based expenditure includes only expenditure incurred directly by local authority schools. This includes the pay of teachers and school-based support staff, school premises costs, books and equipment, and certain other supplies and services, less any capital items funded from recurrent spending and income from sales, fees and charges and rents and rates. This excludes the central cost of support services such as home to school transport, local authority administration and the financing of capital expenditure. The pupil data are drawn from the DFES Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis.  (4). Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 for financial year 1999-00.  (5) Combined local authority and school based expenditure includes all expenditure on the education of children in local authority maintained establishments and pupils educated by the authority other than in maintained establishments. This includes both school based expenditure and all elements of central LA expenditure except youth and community and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA). Certain elements of central local authority expenditure cannot be attributed to a particular phase of education and consequently a sector breakdown is not available. Pupil figures include all pre-primary pupils, including those under 5s funded by the authority and being educated in private settings (only available from 1999-00), pupils educated in maintained mainstream schools and any other local authority maintained pupils. All pupil numbers are adjusted to be on a financial year basis.

Schools (Outside Bodies)

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of schools permit activities of outside bodies on their premises.

Phil Hope: Schools may offer activities, both directly and through third-party providers from the private, voluntary and independent sectors, on their premises. They may also let their premises to outside bodies, such as sports clubs and community groups. The Department does not collect data on all such usage centrally; however, a baseline survey of extended services in a sample of maintained schools in 2005 found that 75 per cent. of primary schools and 97 per cent. of secondary schools permitted some outside use of their facilities. We are committed to ensuring that by 2010 all maintained schools in England become extended schools, providing access to a core offer of opportunities and services, including activities for pupils, family learning and adult learning available to the wider community. We are on track to achieve our target for 2,500 schools to provide this offer by the end of this month; and for half of all primary schools and third of secondary schools to do so by 2008. More than 10,000 schools are already working with their local authorities and with our partner organisation, TDA-Development, to develop extended services.

Sexual Orientation Regulations

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the content of school assemblies will be covered by the sexual orientation regulations.

Phil Hope: The Sexual Orientation Regulations currently being developed by the Department for Communities and Local Government are being put in place to prevent discrimination against individual pupils on grounds of their sexual orientation, or that of their parents or other people with whom they are associated. It is not the intention of the regulations to place a duty on schools to change the content of the curriculum, collective worship, assemblies or any other aspect of teaching in schools.

Special Needs Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps are being taken by his Department to increase awareness among  (a) parents and  (b) professionals working with children on how to support children with a speech and language disability.

Phil Hope: Parental awareness of speech, language and communication difficulties is very important. In 2005, the Department published a detailed information booklet for parent on speech and language difficulties under our Early Support Programme. This resource as produced in close collaboration with specialist organisations in the voluntary sector and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. It explains how children normally develop communication, language and speech, how adults can help in this, the difficulties that can arise and how to seek help from professionals.
	The Department has supported a longitudinal study by the University of Warwick looking into the learning needs of a group of children with specific language and communication difficulties, the characteristics of the current provision made for them and its impact, their aspirations for the future and the ways in which services can best support them. The results of the study are due to be published in autumn 2006.
	The Primary and Secondary National Strategies have also produced a range of support and guidance to schools and childcare settings on the teaching of English and the development of speaking and listening skills, including frameworks to help teachers meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. We are reviewing the frameworks to provide more detailed and up to date guidance for schools which will be available before half term. We have also provided national training materials—"Communicating Matters"—for practitioners in early years Foundation Stage settings to specifically support children's early language acquisition.
	The DfES and the Department of Health have jointly commissioned an independent scoping study to identify, for relevant professionals and other interested parties, examples of good practice in the effective delivery of speech and language therapy services to children and young people with special educational needs aged between 0-19. A research team from Canterbury Christ Church University is carrying out the study and the fieldwork in currently under way. We expect to receive the final report on the scoping study early in the new year.

Special Needs Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether he plans to change the statementing process for children with special educational needs; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Government have no current plans to change the statementing process. We are considering the recent report of the Education and Skills Select Committee's inquiry into special educational needs in which a review of policy is recommended and will respond in due course.

Special Needs Education

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if his Department will set national guidelines on assessment and categorisation of special educational needs.

Phil Hope: Guidance on carrying out statutory assessments of special educational needs are given in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), to which all local education authorities and schools must have regard. The code recognises that there are no hard and fast categories of need for assessment purposes. It identifies four broad types of need: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; behaviour, emotional and social development; and sensory and/or physical needs. But it stresses that each child is unique and that children may have needs that fall into more than one area. The code makes clear that children's needs must be considered on an individual basis.

Student Loans Company

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment has been made of the  (a) security and  (b) reliability of the Student Loans Company's IT systems.

Phil Hope: The Student Loans Company (SLC) routinely commission independent security assessments before new online services are launched to highlight any weaknesses and address these prior to the service becoming operational.
	A major independent review of the single IT system, administered by the SLC and used by local authorities and the SLC to process and pay student loan applications, was conducted over the period June to September 2005 by Gartner Consulting, a recognised global leader in technology futures and evaluation methodologies. Gartner reported average system transaction times and the handling of peak volume throughput to be on par with industry examples and system availability when tested to be 100 per cent. within service level hours.

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computers hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in his Department in each month since March 2005.

Paul Goggins: The table relates to equipment ordered for the NIO core during the financial year 2005-06 and is the total under each heading. Production of this information on a monthly basis could be done at disproportionate cost.
	The figures, in particular those relating to  (a), (b) and  (c) are approximate as there may be additional items purchased throughout the department that we are not aware of.
	
		
			  Item  Number purchase 2005-06 
			  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks 57 
			  (b) compact discs 325 
			  (c) DVD-ROM discs 0 
			  (d) laptop computers 46 
			  (e) external computers hard drives 1 
			  (f) internal computer hard drives 23 
			  (g) desktop computers 129

Environment and Renewable Energy Fund

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many homes in each Westminster constituency have received funding from the Environment and Renewable Energy Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: On 24 July my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland launched the £8 million Household Programme as a major initiative within the Environment and Renewable Energy Fund.
	Up until now no households have received funding from the Fund.
	The Household Programme will provide up to 50 per cent. assistance to homeowners towards the cost of installing renewable technologies such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass or geothermal systems in their homes. A separate element within the programme will provide 100 per cent. assistance to those on low incomes.
	The initiative is expected to lead to a tenfold increase in the number of homes with renewable energy systems in Northern Ireland by providing support to 4,000 homes.
	In addition, the Warm Homes Scheme is being extended from the fund from 8,250 homes to 10,000 and 600 solar hot water systems will be installed over the next two years in Housing Executive dwellings.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Paul Goggins: No IT contract awarded by the NIO has been abandoned with in the last five years.

Key Persons Protection Scheme

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the budget for the Key Persons Protection Scheme in Northern Ireland was in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The cost of the Key Persons Protection Scheme is given as follows and the figures recorded include new works, maintenance and running costs, removal costs, some staffing costs and expenditure associated with travel. The costs are calculated in financial years.
	
		
			   Cost (£ million) 
			 2001-02 4.9 
			 2002-03 11 
			 2003-04 13 
			 2004-05 7.5 
			 2005-06 3.05 
		
	
	The increased expenditure during the period 2002 to 2005 reflects the need to provide physical home security measures for those whose personal details were compromised during the former year. This is also reflected in the numbers admitted to the scheme in 2002 and 2003.

Prisons

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the availability of illegal drugs in prisons in Northern Ireland; and what measures are in place to reduce the availability.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service acknowledges that it is essential to have detailed monitoring systems and trends analysis of the availability of illegal drugs in prisons. The Service has a detailed monthly monitoring system which includes:
	Prisoners who recorded a dependency or use of drugs or alcohol during committal screening;
	Number of adjudications for possession of drugs;
	Number of drug finds;
	Number of times police were called to the prison to arrest visitors for suspected possession of drugs;
	Voluntary drug testing;
	Deployment of Passive Drug Dogs (FDD).
	Complementing the statistical data, graphs and charts are produced which provide a trend analysis over six monthly periods. This information is disseminated within the Northern Ireland Prison Service and with the exception of sensitive information, is published on the NIPS website (www.niprisonservice.gov.uk).
	More long-term, detailed assessments are carried out by external, independent consultants based on anonymous questionnaires and interviews with prisoners. These assessments provide a clear insight into the nature and scope of substance misuse in each establishment. They also provide a solid foundation on which to build and develop policy. They too are published.
	The measures in place to reduce availability of illegal drugs in prison are set out in the "Policy on Alcohol and Substance Misuse" document which was published for consultation on 26 July 2006. It too can be accessed on the Northern Ireland Prison Service website.

Schools (Vandalism)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) state controlled schools,  (b) Catholic maintained schools and  (c) other schools in each board area have been attacked by vandals over the last three years; and whether each case was recorded as a sectarian attack.

Maria Eagle: The number of controlled and Catholic maintained schools attacked by vandals over the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  Education and Library Board  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Belfast
			  (a) Controlled (1)24 98 137 
			  (b) Maintained (1)27 100 196 
			 
			  Western
			  (a) Controlled 29 17 14 
			  (b) Maintained 27 23 22 
			 
			  North Eastern
			  (a) Controlled 107 141 133 
			  (b) Maintained 51 60 57 
			 
			  South Eastern
			  (a) Controlled 425 383 459 
			  (b) Maintained 75 100 70 
			 
			  Southern
			  (a) Controlled (2)259 (2)254 (2)265 
			  (b) Maintained (2)279 (2)273 (2)286 
			 (1) Figures from 1 August 2003 when Board started to keep computerised records.  (2) Figures are for calendar year. 
		
	
	The information for voluntary grammar and grant maintained integrated schools is not readily available and is currently being collected. I will write to you with the information as soon as possible.
	Incidents of vandalism are not recorded as sectarian by the Education and Library Boards.

Sight-impaired Students

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to facilitate the inclusion of pupils who are blind, partially sighted and sight impaired in mainstream education.

Maria Eagle: The introduction of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (SENDO) has increased the rights of children with special educational needs (SEN) to a mainstream education. Education and Library Boards (ELBs) assess and make provision for pupils on an individual basis, in line with the Code of Practice on the Assessment of Special Educational Needs and the Supplement to it, issued as a result of SENDO.
	All of the ELBs have staff qualified to teach pupils who are blind, partially sighted and visually impaired, including those staff attached to the peripatetic support services. In addition support is available from Jordanstown Special Schools' outreach service.
	Depending on the needs of the individual pupil, ELBs make available a range of aids to support learning, including large print literature, Braillers and appropriate ICT equipment and software. Schools themselves may also purchase specialist items through their dedicated SEN budgets.

Twelfth Celebrations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the revenue accruing to the economy in Northern Ireland through the annual Twelfth Celebrations; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: While Government have made no estimate of the revenue accruing to the economy in Northern Ireland through the Twelfth Celebrations. Mr. Hanson MP, Minister for Social Development recently announced Government funding of £104,200 for the County Grand Orange Lodge of Belfast to employ a development officer for three years to implement a strategy for the management of Twelfth of July celebrations within Belfast. The objectives for the post include: encouraging the Twelfth of July as an economic promotional day for trade and commerce in Belfast city centre and its main arterial routes; and, promoting Belfast in a positive light and encouraging visitors to watch the parade.

Asylum/Immigration

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for the time taken for the publication of the most recent report by the Independent Monitor (Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) submitted to Government in November 2005.

Liam Byrne: The final agreed version of the 2005 Annual report of the Monitor of certification of claims as unfounded under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 was formally submitted to the Home Office on 6 April 2006. The report was published on 27 April. The document submitted to the Home Office on 29 November 2005 was the first draft of the Monitor's annual report. This document was then subject to a period of consultation and discussion prior to being submitted to the Secretary of State. This included the provision of further information requested by the Monitor to enable her to complete the report and the correction of factual errors.

Asylum/Immigration

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date each of the reports by the Independent Monitor (Immigration and Asylum Act 2002) were received by the Home Office; and what the date of publication was in each case.

Liam Byrne: The Independent Monitor of certification of claims as unfounded under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 has published two annual reports, covering 2004 and 2005 respectively. The final version of the 2004 annual report was received by the Home Office on 1 June 2005 and published on 21 July. The final version of the 2005 report was received on 6 April 2006 and published on 27 April.
	In each case the submission by the Monitor of the final version of the report was preceded by a period of consultation on draft versions.

Biometric Technology

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) planned and  (b) existing projects in his Department involve the use of biometric technology.

Joan Ryan: Planned projects in the Home Office which will make use of biometrics include:
	preparation for the addition of a second biometric in the UK ePassport;
	Identity Cards programme in support of the national identity scheme;
	UKvisas Biometric programme to ensure that all UK issued visas will use biometric identifiers by the end of 2007 or early 2008;
	Biometric travel documents;
	Biometric residence permit to be developed in line with common EU standards;
	IAFS+, extension of IAFS (Immigration and Asylum Fingerprints System) to accommodate the biometric visas and biometric residence permits;
	e-Borders programme, delivering a modernised border control, which is fundamentally more effective, efficient and secure to meet the future operational needs of UK border, law enforcement and intelligence agencies;
	FIND national database of facial images managed by the Police Information TechnologyOrganisation, PITO;
	PITO project to use face recognition to support FIND;
	LANTERN, a mobile fingerprint system under development by PITO.
	In addition there are a number of smaller projects some of which are partnerships with other organisations in the UK and abroad.
	Existing projects in the Home Office which make use of biometrics include:
	IDENT1 UK police platform for fingerprints and palmprints;
	UK ePassport: completion of its rollout scheduled for third quarter of 2006;
	IAFS (Immigration and Asylum Fingerprint System), database of biometric data relating to immigration cases and asylum seekers;
	ARC (application registration cards) and the use of mobile quick check readers. ARC is a credit card sized plastic credential which contains fingerprint details of asylum claimants and others;
	RepARC (Reporting with ARC) programme to require asylum claimants to produce their ARC card at each reporting event;
	ISRP (Immigration Stateless Refugee Project) to collect fingerprint details from holders of the 1951 UN Convention Travel Document;
	VIAFS—Visa Immigration and Asylum Fingerprint System, collecting fingerprints of visa applicants from certain countries;
	EURODAC—European-wide system in support of the Dublin Convention uses fingerprint data in order that member states can determine whether an asylum-seeker or a foreign national found present within a member state has previously claimed asylum in another member state;
	IRIS (Iris Recognition Immigration System), a free and voluntary way for air passengers to clear immigration utilising their iris image to verify their identity;
	Systems in prisons to prevent escapes by prisoners exchanging places with visitors;
	C-NOMIS (Custody- National Offender Management Information System). Fingerprint based for confirmation of prisoner identity against IDENT1 and PNC.
	Pilot of a Methadone dispensing system using iris recognition, at HMP Eastwood Park.
	Trial of fingerprint based access control to IT systems in prisons.
	As for planned projects there are a number of smaller projects some of which are partnerships with other organisations in the UK and abroad.
	The Home Office is continuing to examine new technologies, and new ways of using existing biometric technologies, to ensure the protection of the public.

Body Searches

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are applied for clothed body searches  (a) in women's prisons and  (b) at ports of entry.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service has full, step-by-step procedural guidelines set out in the National Security Framework, accessible to all staff, on how rubdown searches must be conducted. In a standard level rub down search the officer rubs down the upper and lower areas of the front and back of the body. Higher level searches additionally include searching hair, feet and footwear. The power to search a passenger is contained in the Immigration Act 1971 Schedule two and in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. However, this power is used sparingly and only in exceptional circumstances. An immigration officer, or a customs or police officer conducting the search under his direction, may invite any person to empty their pockets voluntarily as part of a search for documents. Detainee custody officers have a power under Schedule 11 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to undertake a clothed body search of a detained person at an immigration removal centre or a short term holding facility, including a holding room at a port of entry.

Business in Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the future funding of Business in Prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: John Lowe, the Director of Business in Prisons, wrote to Baroness Scotland in August 2005 requesting funding. The Minister suggested that he should speak with Neil Moore who was then the HM Prison Service National Voluntary Sector Co-ordinator, working in the National Offender Management Service Voluntary Sector Unit. A meeting was held between Neil Moore and Mr Lowe where Neil explained that there was no central funding available but that the organisation was eligible to submit a bid for the NOMS VSU grant round for 2006-07. The organisation did submit a bid for funding but their application was unsuccessful. The NOMS Voluntary Sector Unit received almost 700 applications for grants and, having identified Finance, Benefit and Debt as a Pathway which was under-resourced, had to reject applications that did not cover that area. There is a new grant round for 2007-08 with a closing date for applications of 15 September 2006 for which they are eligible to apply.

Criminal Records Bureau

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information technology projects are being undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau which have started since 2000; what the (a) start date,  (b) original planned completion date,  (c) current expected completion date,  (d) planned cost and  (e) current estimated cost is of each; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has made significant investment in a number of projects, to enhance the quality, coverage and accessibility of its service and to deliver real changes and benefits to its customers. There are eight information technology projects being undertaken by the CRB, which have commenced since 2000. Of these, four are currently at the feasibility stage and costings and completion schedules have yet to be determined. These are: The I-PLX+ project, which aims to enhance the national police cross referencing database of local police force information (I-PLX), which is an important development in vetting and security checks, delivering significant improvements to the protection of the vulnerable. Vetting and Barring Scheme: the CRB will continue to play a key role in the development of the new Vetting and Barring Scheme, introduced as a result of Bichard recommendation 19. Entry to the scheme will be via a CRB check. New Disclosure application form (DAF): the CRB has also been examining the feasibility of devising an upgraded Disclosure application form. A prototype of a new form has been produced, in consultation with a number of its customers and has been piloted with a cross section of Registered Bodies. As part of the feasibility studies, full costings will be prepared. The on-line application project aims to enable applicants to complete applications for Standard and Enhanced Disclosures via the e-channel. Details of the four ongoing projects which have started since 2000 are provided in the following table: During 2005 the CRB developed a new Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). This is now being rolled out to all police forces and should be completed by January 2007, subject to forces' readiness to complete staff training and implementation. The framework will standardise the forces' approach to deciding what, if any, information is relevant to be released on a Disclosure. The framework also provides good practice guidelines for the wording of this information on the Disclosure, including consideration of the victim's age and mental capacity. With the introduction of the On-line Tracking Service, customers will be able to track the progress of a CRB check from receipt to issue, providing greater visibility of the process. The Registration Cancellation project aims to improve the CRB's assurance regime and enable greater support to its customers and Registered Bodies, whilst further eliminating risk.
	The CRB now has legislation, as a result of the recent Serious and Organised Crime Act, giving it access to a wider range of information that can be searched when carrying out a CRB check, for example that held by the British Transport Police, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the Royal Military Police. These are scheduled to come on stream during 2006-07.
	
		
			  Project name  Start date  Original planned completion date  Current expected completion date  Planned cost (£)  Current estimated cost (£) 
			 QAF (Quality Assurance Framework) 2005 31 October 2006 31 January 2007 £325,996 114,716 
			 On-Line Enquiry Service STAGE 1 May 2006 21 October 2006 21 October 2006 £314,093 314,093 
			 Registration Cancellation November 2004 28 October 2006 25 November 2006 £700,000 761,946.79 
			 New Data Sources April/May 2006 (1)— British Transport Police (BTP)(2) (3)— (4)45,962 
			 (1) Planned completion at various dates as data sources are rolled out (2) Go live 25 September 2006( 3) £1.2 million budgeted (4) For BTP

Departmental Pay and Pensions Service

Joe Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was in each financial year of the Dale Carnegie training course which took place between autumn 2005 and autumn 2006 which was delivered to staff at the Pay and Pensions Service based at Litherland House, Bootle; how much of that sum is accounted for by  (a) monies paid to the company providing the training,  (b) monies spent on the accommodation used for the course and  (c) the cost of releasing staff from their departmental duties; and what the total cost was of all other training delivered to staff at his Department's Pay and Pensions Service over that period.

Liam Byrne: The contract value for the investment in Team Working Programme, delivered by Dale Carnegie Training is £113,200. The main training events began on 5 April 2006. Accommodation and travel costs from 5 April to 21 June were £6,495.85. It is estimated that a further £13,000 will be spent on travel and accommodation to complete the programme. Staff costs arising from the programme are notional and are regarded as part of the Department's underlying commitment to provide management training and other development opportunities. For the 2005-06 financial year, spending against the HOPPS training budget was £56,734, against a budget figure of £80,000. The budget for 2006-07 is £129,000.

Departmental Premises (Security)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to ensure that no illegal immigrants are employed in the manned guarding of his Department's premises.

Liam Byrne: People employed to work on Home Office premises whether employed directly by the Home Office or provided by a contractor, are required to satisfy requirements on identity, nationality and immigration status. In the case of contract workers, these checks are carried out by their employers; under section eight of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 it is an offence to employ a person aged 16 or over, who is subject to immigration control and who is not entitled to work in the UK or to undertake the employment in question.

Deportation

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign prisoners have been released and not removed under section 259 to 262 of the early removal provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 since they came into force.

Liam Byrne: Sections 259-262 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are only used to release foreign national prisoners for removal.

Deportation

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers in his Department have responsibility for ensuring that foreign nationals are considered for deportation prior to being released from prison.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 3 May 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has overall responsibility for the Home Office. I am Minister of State for nationality, citizenship and immigration, and I am supported in this by Joan Ryan MP.
	Tony McNulty MP is Minister of State for policing, security and community safety. He is supported by Vernon Coaker MP.
	The right hon. Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC is Minister of State for criminal justice and offender management and she is supported by Gerry Sutcliffe MP.

Drink-driving

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people charged with drink driving had not gone to trial within  (a) three months,  (b) six months and  (c) 12 months of being charged in the last year for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	During 2005, the estimated proportion of drink driving cases which had not been listed for trial in the magistrates courts within three months of charge (in charged cases) or laying of information (in summonsed cases) is less than 0.3 per cent.
	The following table shows the estimated proportion of drink driving cases which had not been completed in the magistrates courts within three, six and twelve months of charge or laying of information.
	These figures are estimates taken from the Time Intervals Survey for criminal cases in the magistrates courts. The survey covers all adult and youth cases completed during two one-week sample periods in March and September 2005. The figures shown are for all cases where the most serious offence was either driving after consuming alcohol or drugs, or being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
	
		
			  Initial plea  Percentage of cases not complete  Margin of error( 1)  Number of cases in sample 
			  Within three months of charge or laying of information
			 Guilty 5.0 +/- 0.9 2249 
			 Not guilty or no plea entered(2) 68.3 +/- 5.0 328 
			 All cases 13.1 +/- 1.3 2577 
			 
			  Within six months of charge or laying of information
			 Guilty 2.3 +/- 0.6 2249 
			 Not guilty or no plea entered(2) 29.9 +/- 5.0 328 
			 All cases 5.8 +/- 0.9 2577 
			  Within 12 months of charge or laying of information
			 Guilty 0.6 +/- 0.3 2249 
			 Not guilty or no plea entered(2) 5.8 +/- 2.5 328 
			 All cases 1.3 +/- 0.4 2577 
			 (1) 95 per cent. confidence limits for the overall percentage of cases not complete during the year, expressed in percentage points.  (2) Includes cases subsequently withdrawn.

Fires (London)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer to Question 88959, on fires in London, how many prosecutions have been brought for arson and arson related offences in each London borough, broken down by  (a) age and  (b) sex.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 5 September 2006
	Data from the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of persons proceeded against for arson offences in 2004, broken down by London Court Area, sex and age, is provided in the following table .It is not possible to identify court proceedings for other offences involving arson because the individual circumstances of offences are not held centrally. Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for arson offences by sex, age and London court area 2004( 1, 2) 
			   Offence: Arson endangering life  Offence: Arson not endangering life 
			   Statute: Criminal Damage Act 1971 S.1(1)  Statute: Criminal Damage Act 1971 S.1(2) 
			   Male  Female  Male  Female 
			  London court area  10-17  18-20  21+  10-17  18-20  21+  10-17  18-20  21+  10-17  18-20  21+ 
			  City of London Police 
			 Guildhall Justice Rooms — 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Total City of London — 1 — — — — — — — — — — 
			  
			  Metropolitan Police 
			  Inner London Magistrates Courts 
			 Bow Street — — 1 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge 1 — 10 — — 1 3 — 2 — — 1 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich — 1 4 — — 2 1 — 2 1 — — 
			 Highbury Corner — 1 7 — — 2 — — 5 — — 1 
			 Horseferry Road — — 2 — — 1 — — 4 — — — 
			 South Western 4 — 1 1 — — 1 2 1 1 — 1 
			 Thames — — 2 — 1 1 3 — 1 — — — 
			 West London 1 — 2 2 — 1 4 2 3 1 — 1 
			  
			  Other London Courts 
			 Barking and Dagenham — — — — — — 3 — 1 1 — — 
			 Barnet — 1 2 — — — — — — 1 — 1 
			 Bexley — — 1 — — — 1 1 2 1 — — 
			 Brent — — 3 — — 1 — 2 1 — — — 
			 Bromley — 1 3 — — 1 1 2 2 1 — — 
			 Croydon — — 2 — — — — 2 5 — — — 
			 Ealing — — 3 — — 1 2 — 3 — — — 
			 Enfield — — — — — 1 — 2 — 1 — — 
			 Haringey — — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Harrow 2 — — — — — — — 3 — — — 
			 Havering — — — — — 2 2 — 2 — — — 
			 Hillingdon — — 4 — — — 4 — 1 1 — — 
			 Hounslow — — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames — — — — — — — — 2 — — — 
			 Merton — — — — — 1 — — 1 — — — 
			 Newham 1 — 2 — — — 2 — 2 — — — 
			 Redbridge — — — — — — 4 — 2 1 — — 
			 Richmond upon Thames — — 1 — — — 1 1 1 — — — 
			 Sutton — — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Waltham Forest — — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 
			  
			 Total Metropolitan Police 9 4 53 3 1 15 35 14 47 10 — 5 
			  
			 Total Greater London 9 5 53 3 1 15 35 14 47 10 — 5 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.(2 )These data are provided on the principal offence basis.

Foreign Criminals

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of whether any of the convicted foreign nationals who were released without being considered for deportation are on the electoral roll; and whether steps are being taken to check the electoral roll to identify them.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 25 May 2006
	Checks on all those foreign national prisoners who were released without consideration of deportation action have been carried out on an individual basis. These checks were conducted on a case by case basis and not collated centrally and so the overall results are available only at disproportionate cost.

Foreign Criminals

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long a foreign national who has committed a crime in the UK may be detained when there is little prospect of their home country supporting their deportation.

Liam Byrne: Where a deportation order is in force against any person, the Secretary of State may give directions for the person's removal to either a country of which he is a national or citizen, or a country or territory to which there is reason to believe that he will be admitted. Immigration Act powers to detain are not time limited. However, domestic and ECHR caselaw provides that detention must last for no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it is authorised and must not be of excessive duration. In the case of a person being deported or removed from the UK detention would be lawful provided there was a realistic prospect of deportation or removal within a reasonable period of time. Where a detainee refuses to cooperate with the removal process detention may be prolonged and the risk of reoffending is a factor that may be taken into account in determining whether the duration of a person's detention is reasonable. This position has been supported by the Courts.

Foreign Criminals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006 to questions 68218, 68529, 68530 and 68531, on deportation of foreign prisoners, how many of the nine named individuals have been deported since serving their sentences.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 July 2006
	As I advised the hon. Member previously, it is not the Department's policy to comment in the public domain on individual cases.

Foreign Criminals

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether foreign criminals deported after serving their sentences can be prevented from re-entering the United Kingdom when their countries subsequently join the European Union.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 8 May 2006
	Person entering or seeking to enter the United Kingdom in breach of a Deportation Order (DO) is an illegal entrant as defined in section 33(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 and so is not permitted to seek re-entry to the United Kingdom. Records of individuals deported from the UK are added to the UK's Immigration database deployed at all UK border control points, against which those seeking entry to the UK are routinely checked. An individual who was deported from the United Kingdom prior to their country acceding to the European Union, and thus prior to their acquisition of rights of movement under EC law, would not be able to exercise the right of free movement without first seeking to have the deportation order revoked.

Foreign Criminals

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral answer of 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 991 to the Leader of the Opposition, how many foreign nationals sentenced to serve a prison sentence have been deported at the half way point of their sentence under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 since the Act came into force.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not centrally available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost

Foreign Criminals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of holding  (a) non-British EU nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals in prisons in England and Wales in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Prison Service does not collate centrally the cost of keeping individual prisoners, broken down by their nationality.

Foreign Criminals

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in UK prisons are citizens of  (a) Albania,  (b) Romania,  (c) Turkey and  (d) Poland; and what percentage of the overall prison population each figure represents.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 September 2006
	The table gives the numbers of prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales who were citizens of  (a) Albania,  (b) Romania,  (c) Turkey and  (d) Poland at 31 December 2005. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number. As the written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 28-30WS, from my hon. Friend the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship (Mr. Byrne) indicated, the Home Secretary has identified eight priority areas to be addressed in order to improve the effectiveness of arrangements for deporting foreign national prisoners. The second of these priority areas is that there is currently no legal requirement for prisoners to provide evidence of their nationality, or consistent processes for nationality to be recorded. Before the summer, staff in IND and the criminal justice agencies worked together to design possible ways of addressing this gap, including a new legal requirement. A programme of activities is currently in hand, managed through the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, to test the options with frontline staff across the criminal justice system and to examine their feasibility and relative merits, in order for recommendations to be produced by the end of October. Information on the numbers of foreign national prisoners serving prison sentences in prison establishments in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office respectively.
	
		
			  Listed foreign national prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales as at 31 December 2005 
			   Number of prisoners  As percentage of prison population 
			 Albania 122 0.2 
			 Poland 155 0.2 
			 Romania 142 0.2 
			 Turkey 294 0.4 
			 Total prison establishment population 74,194

Illegal Immigration

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers  (a) between 27 January 1997 and 10 February 2003 and  (b) since 10 February 2003, have been investigated for consideration of prosecution by his Department or by any police force or other public authority for offences in any way related to or arising from the employers' alleged, intended or actual employment of illegal workers or facilitation of illegal immigration or other immigration-related offences alleged to have been committed by employers (i) under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, (ii) under the Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Act 2002 and (iii) under any other legislation; of these employers, how many were prosecuted and, of those employers prosecuted, how many were convicted; and, as regards the convictions, what were the minimum, average and maximum sentences imposed, both in total and broken down by legal characterisation of the offences.

Liam Byrne: There are no centrally collated reports on how many employers have been investigated for consideration of prosecution action by the UK Immigration Service, the police or other public authorities as decisions on whether or not to prosecute are made by individual departmental prosecution sections, as well as the Crown Prosecution Service. However, statistical information on those employers successfully prosecuted for such offences is published in the Home Office Command Papers "Control of Immigration: Statistics—United Kingdom 2005" and "Control of Immigration: Statistics—United Kingdom 2004." These papers are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Murderers

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many convicted murderers have had their tariff set after sentencing since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;
	(2)  how many convicted murderers who have been sentenced are waiting for their tariff to be set by a High Court judge.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	There have been 418 convicted murderers sentenced that are awaiting their tariff and 282 have had their tariff set since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Open Prisons (Deportees)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many people held in open prisons while awaiting deportation absconded in each year between 2001 and 2005;
	(2)  how many people awaiting deportation were held in open prisons on 31 December  (a) 2005,  (b) 2004,  (c) 2003,  (d) 2002 and  (e) 2001;
	(3)  what guidance he has issued on the holding in open prisons of those awaiting deportation; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of people awaiting deportation who have absconded or held in open conditions is not held centrally in the format requested and may only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. The Prison Service reviewed the criteria for the categorisation and allocation of foreign national prisoners to open conditions earlier this year. The review concluded that no changes to the security re-categorisation policy were required. However, governors were advised that before a foreign national prisoner was approved for open conditions the individual risk was to be assessed on the assumption that deportation will take place unless a decision not to deport had already been taken by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Physical Evidence Gathering Protocol

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the physical evidence gathering protocol was introduced; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: I will write to the hon. Member separately.

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) own force investigations,  (b) supervised investigations,  (c) managed investigations and  (d) independent investigations have been carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each year since it was established.

Tony McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is an independent body responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to you directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigators have been employed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each year since it was established; and how many were budgeted for in each year.

Tony McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is an independent body responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to you directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Police

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that the Independent Police Complaints Commission supervised and managed investigations are not conducted by police officers from the force being investigated; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is an independent body responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to you directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Police

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 6 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1332W, on police, what factors led to the decision to make the police helicopter based at RAF Benson available for tasking from 17.35 on 17 July.

Tony McNulty: The police helicopter at RAF Benson was undergoing maintenance on 17 July 2003 until 17.35 when it was available for tasking until the end of its duty period at 02.30 on 18 July. It was availablefor tasking again from 08.00 on 18 July until 02.30 on 19 July.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in each year since its inception in  (a) England and  (b) Essex; and how many have been upheld in each case.

Tony McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to you directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC's response will be placed in the House Libraries.

Prisons

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the prison population is receiving state pension.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prisoners are not entitled to receive state pension while in prison.

Reducing Reoffending Action Plan

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he plans to make to the way resources are allocated to deliver the Reducing Re-offending Action Plan effectively in Wales.

Gerry Sutcliffe: While the national Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan details the partnership work in England, similar principles and the broad approach to reducing re-offending are reflected in 'Joining Together in Wales: an Adult and Young People's Strategy to Reduce Re-offending('). The strategy was launched jointly by Welsh Assembly Government and Home Office Ministers earlier this year and reflects the roles and responsibilities of the Welsh Assembly Government and the National Offender Management Service. It identifies the issues and aims to be addressed in Wales, which formed the basis of a consultation to develop the actions. Following the consultation, work is now under-way with the Welsh Assembly Government and other key partners to develop and agree a joint action plan to deliver the strategy in Wales. Responsibility for the development of the strategy in Wales rests with the Director of Offender Management Services in Wales. Through the role of commissioning services, the Director of Offender Management Services in Wales will be able to influence the allocation of resources to pursue national objectives and in the delivery of the joint action plan. Clearly, not all resources will be allocated directly through the National Offender Management Service, those within other partners' responsibilities form part of the consideration being given to developing and resourcing the delivery of the joint action plan. In addition, to support this work, we are also developing our reducing re-offending alliances in Wales, with the corporate sector, civic society and with faith groups and the voluntary sector. The aim is to bring in new skills and innovation enabling us to work effectively with ex-offenders in different ways.

Unaccompanied Minors

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 August 2006 to PQ86876, how many unaccompanied minors were admitted to the UK at Heathrow airport in each of the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on asylum applications from unaccompanied minors is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.